


There Goes the Neighborhood

by melliejellie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Haikyuu!! OT3+ Week, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, OT4, Polyamory, Slice of Life, engineer!Tsukishima, hot carptener!Kuroo, it's just so soft now, legit just random slices of life I wanna imagine for them, medical student!Akaashi, soft, teacher!Bokuto, that's it that's the story, they live in a house together and it's great
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2019-08-08 23:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16439069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melliejellie/pseuds/melliejellie
Summary: Koutarou, Tetsurou, Keiji, and Kei moved into a house on the outskirts of Tokyo about a year and a half ago. The neighborhood's quite different from the noisier, livelier, and frankly, younger neighborhood where their last cramped apartment was. No one seems to quite *get* the whole situation, but the four of them can't be bothered to care. This thing they've built together is the best part of their lives.Some backstory of how they got together. The rest is slice of life. Heavy fluff. Light angst. All love.(On-going with no set schedule)





	1. Remember When

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 prompts: first meeting | “wanna play?” | old days

_Tsukishima's POV_

“Remember our old living room?” Tetsurou asks, his hands absent-mindedly trailing lazy lines through Keiji’s hair. With heavy-lidded eyes, Keiji nods on his lap and yawns, stretching his legs out farther on the new couch.

“This house is so much better than that apartment.” Kei says from the other couch (the old one - the comfier one), glancing up from the book he wasn’t really reading anyway. His feet are pressed against Koutarou’s thigh, waiting for another spontaneous foot rub or the chance to slip his toes over to tickle Koutarou’s side again. (Though, the last time he did it, Koutarou spilled his drink, so he might lay off.) 

“Aww, I liked it. It was cozy.” Koutarou adds wistfully and playfully pinches Kei’s big toe. Kei yelps and pulls it back. 

“It was cramped. Four men in a two bedroom Tokyo flat? Who were we kidding?” Kei won’t budge on that one. Ever since they moved into a house, there’s been so much more space - blissful, wonderous, “you can be alone sometimes” space.

“But it was our place. Our first one all together.” Koutarou replies. 

Kei watches as Koutarou’s smile grows, then Tetsurou’s, and even Keiji, exhausted from another long shift as a resident at the hospital, sleepily grins on Tetsurou’s lap. 

Okay, maybe it wasn’t all bad. It was small. And old. And the walls were so thin he could hear the neighbor flushing their toilet. Likewise, it takes no imagination to wonder what the neighbors heard from four young, able-bodied men in love next door. Kei shivers at the memory, the shame reverberating through time. But as the other three add in their own stories, he starts to remember the parts that weren’t so awful.

Keiji recalls how it was the first time he or Kei lived with the other two. Koutarou and Tetsurou had shared a room for two years by then, but when Keiji graduated and Kei was in his final year at university they made the decision to make this happy thing they’d settled into more permanent and move in together. 

“I was so anxious about where to sleep.” Keiji laughs, the once-awkward topic now a mostly-forgotten memory. There was a lot of trial and error involved. 

First there was a nightly rotation system for the two queen beds. It was Tetsurou’s idea. No one liked it. Bleary-eyed and grouchy from never being able to settle into one bed and actually sleep, they’d worked their way into a monthly rotation. 

But as Keiji and Kei kept the other two up with their late-night reading and Koutarou and Tetsurou stomped around like elephants early in the morning, they settled into their current pattern. Keiji and Kei were the night owls staying up late to talk or illuminate the room with their personal book lamps. Koutarou and Tetsurou were the early birds up before dawn to go on a run together.

Of course, there are no hard rules. Sometimes they just needed cuddles from another boyfriend or from everyone all at once. Those nights are great, too. 

“How about those couple of months where I stress baked?” Tetsurou laughs, throwing his head back. Those months were delicious, delicious torture. 

During his couple months of “funemployment” after graduation, if Tetsurou wasn’t anxiously pacing their apartment or applying for jobs, he was baking - from cakes to cookies, from cinnamon rolls to fancy fruit tarts. 

After everyone gained about five pounds, a discussion was had. An intervention. Tears were shed. Hugs were shared. The, the comforting took a more lustful turn and Tetsurou got to wipe the slate clean as his boyfriends lavished him with attention.

Eventually they convinced him that he didn’t need to worry about finding what’s right, and maybe just learning what’s right for right now was perfect. 

It helped. Tetsurou tried on many hats after that, but his current journey as part of a team of carpenters restoring houses is his favorite so far. It comes in handy because their current house, a traditional home Keiji inherited from his grandmother, definitely needs expert help. But even though the self-doubt has faded and Tetsurou doesn’t need the baking to distract himself, most nights there’s something sweet on the counter or in the fridge.

There are still crumbs from Koutarou’s nightly “after dinner snack” on the couch cushions between him and Kei. Tonight it’s sticky bits from a pecan pie.

Kei covers his face as Koutarou re-tells the story of how Kei slipped and fell while carrying boxes on their big apartment move-in day and the ended up at the urgent care center. They were quite a sight. Kei and his four doting emergency contacts (all of whom would not like to go to the waiting room, thank you very much).

“You guys acted like I was dying.” Kei groans from behind the throw pillow. 

“Well, there was a bunch of blood.” Tetsurou adds.

“There really wasn’t.” Keiji opens his eyes long enough to chime in.

“See! I was fine.”

Keiji had won out as the actual, official emergency contact, only because Kei thought being an actual med student gave him an edge over the other two in that role. As the doctor sewed in some stitches, Keiji watched him work intently but held Kei’s hand the whole time. Kei liked it too much to remember to feel embarrassed. 

Koutarou gestures at the end of his story, “Yea, then we got to take care of you! It was the best. I mean, not that you were hurt, but that you were, I don’t know -” 

“Soft Kei, the rarest of all.” Tetsurou finishes the thought and receives an unblockable throw pillow spike from Kei across the room. “Back when we first met you, I knew you couldn’t be all sarcasm and salt.” 

“Just mostly.” Kei raises an eyebrow, daring him to throw the pillow back.

Tetsurou gently puts it under Keiji’s head instead. “Yea, we were all like ‘wanna play?’ and you were like ‘nah.’ And then I was like, ‘how about now?’ and you were like, “nope.’”

“And then I came in with my speech about loving volleyball when you start to get good at it and totally swept you off your feet.” Koutarou lifts his head proudly, grinning. 

“Something like that.” Kei smirks and wiggles his toes against Koutarou’s leg. 

“No way, Kei was probably on his way out the door, but he got one look at Keiji and was like, ‘guess I can stay.’”

Keiji playfully punches Tetsurou’s knee. 

Tetsurou isn’t too far away from the truth. Kei remembers feeling so annoyed by Tetsurou, torn between wanting to walk away or challenge him out of spite. Koutarou had nearly swayed him by bringing up his weird insecurities, but it was too sincere. Kei’s urge to run from that level of vulnerability was too strong. 

And then, yes, he got a good look at Keiji and the way his soft hair fell over his permanently apathetic-seeming stare. Then he wanted to run for an entirely different reason. Boys that were so pretty they momentarily stole the breath from his lungs were unfamiliar territory. 

But he stayed.

Thank the stars, thank the the galaxies, thank the the whole damn universe he stayed. 

Maybe something would have happened eventually with Tetsurou. He was handsome and his provocative nature pulled Kei in as much as it drove him insane. He would never have had the confidence to approach Keiji, though. And Koutarou seemed far too different from himself to be anything he desired. 

He would have missed out on so much. Without that first meeting, without agreeing to play, he never would have gotten to know Tetsurou’s thoughtful side, how playful Keiji could be, or how Koutarou’s seemingly endless well of sunbeams came from a life of ups and downs that made the sunshine even sweeter. 

Kei would have missed out on being this loved.

“I do kind of miss our old neighborhood.” Kei admits, bringing the conversation back to where it began. Keiji hums softly, now actually asleep and starting to breathing heavily. 

“There was more stuff to do.” Tetsurou whispers. “Remember that gross karaoke place?”

Koutarou nods. “Ooh! And that restaurant with the old lady who liked me so much and gave me extra food?”

“You’d have to be more specific. They all liked you, sunshine.” Tetsurou winks. 

“It wasn’t all bad, but I do like this better.” And Kei means it. A part of him will always miss how carefree and ridiculous they were before, but now, with a few more years behind them, the comfort, safety, and love in this house beats anything they used to have. Sure the house Keiji inherited from his grandmother isn’t physically perfect, despite Tetsurou’s valiant efforts and the three of them helping. And the neighborhood is, well, less youthful and open then their last one. 

But at night, when it’s quiet, he can close his eyes and hear only Tetsurou and Koutarou’s soft voices carrying over the sound of Keiji’s steady breathing, and Kei can’t imagine anything better.


	2. Everything Began with Bokuto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of how Bokuto + Kuroo = boyfriends.
> 
> Then how Bokuroo + Akaashi = better, albeit more complicated boyfriends.  
> And how Bokuakakuro + Tsukishima = whoa boyfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 prompts: getting together | “i’m your number one fan” | popcorn

_Kuroo’s POV_

Everything began with Bokuto.

Of course now, Tetsurou hasn’t called him Bokuto regularly in years (though “Bo” is still a term of endearment and Keiji sure likes the reaction he gets when he purrs “Bokuto-san”), but back at the beginning he was just Bokuto, that loud, spikey-haired kid at Fukurodani.

With Kenma still at his old junior high school, Tetsurou had been slow to make new friends. Most of the people in his classes thought he was shy and reserved. Kenma would spit-laugh at that if he heard it. If only they knew what was just below the surface.

He’d been slightly more himself during volleyball practice. The two other first years, Kai and Yaku, were friendly with him most of the time. Kai got along with the older players and helped serve as a bridge, introducing Tetsurou and helping to break the ice. Yaku, on the other hand, was impossible to figure out. He was great on the court and they had fun when they played together, but he seemed to get a kick out of choosing or doing the opposite of whatever Tetsurou was doing any other time.

By the summer training camp, Tetsurou was a bit more comfortable. Being able to prove himself on the court had helped with that. His team had even heard his now infamous cackle. But there were still pieces of himself that were carefully locked away.

And then there was Koutarou.

The boy made no sense. Mostly he was like having a conversation with the sun, so bright it hurts but it pulls you in. But Tetsurou also saw the way he’d completely shut down after making a mistake.

“I just don’t like letting anyone down.” Koutarou readily admitted that evening during some forced inter-team bonding outside. Tetsurou had just asked about how his day had been, singling out the only other first year he saw that wasn’t already talking to someone. Koutarou had shared all the little details, every high and every low. 

“You’re still a first year. I don’t think they expect that much from you.”

“But I do!” Koutarou replied emphatically. “I’m going to be the ace! You watch me.”

And Tetsurou did. The next day, whenever Nekoma was finished but Fukurodani wasn’t, he watched the way Koutarou put everything he had behind every move he made. When it succeeded, he beamed. When it failed, he melted. Luckily, he ended the day’s scrimmages on a high note and bounced his way over to Tetsurou, his “new friend from last night.”

Koutarou made Tetsurou feel special. When he talked to him, his eyes lit up and he stared intently like he was hanging on his every word. And the crazy thing was, Koutarou was actually listening to everything, and he remembered it all, too. 

“How’s your friend Kenma? Have you been able to talk much this week?” Koutarou asked on the third night of training, remembering both Tetsurou’s best friend’s name and how close they were. The two of them were outside the building they were all sleeping in, just outside the doors getting some fresh air before bed. 

“Not really. He’s hard to get a reply from over texts if he’s wrapped up in something. It’s summer vacation, so he’s gotta be knee deep in a new game.”

“Must be nice,” Koutarou said dreamily looking up at the night sky, “having a friend for that long.”

 

“You seem to have lots of friends.” Tetsurou noted after seeing the way the Fukurodani team seemed to readily pull him into their tightly-knit group.

“Yea, but it’s different. I think I’m friendly, so I have friends, but I don’t have, like, a best friend.” Koutarou jumped, seeming startled, and his eyes landed on Tetsurou’s. “You can be my best friend!”

The sincerity caught him off-guard. He was so earnest, so thoughtful. Tetsurou blinked but couldn’t find what to say in reply.

“I know you already have one -” Koutarou’s voice dropped as his gaze settled on the ground, his shoulders beginning to sag. “-but maybe you could still be mine.”

“Yea, but you don’t know me very well.”

Determined, Koutarou stared at him again. “I know I like talking to you. And you make me not feel so bad when I mess up and let everybody down. And, and when you watch me play I hear you cheering for me.”

Tetsurou thought that by high school he would surely be too old for the “instant best friend” thing, but looking at his strange but amazing eyes, he knew his answer. He held out his hand. “Sure, best friends.”

Koutarou took his hand and pulled him in for a hug that squeezed all the breath from his body.

After camp, they stayed in touch through emails and texts. Tetsurou didn’t see him again until he spotted a friendly patch of spiky hair in the light crowd at a practice game against another Tokyo public school.

“You’re here.” Tetsurou stated after the game, not sure if he meant to make it a question or not.

“Of course I am! I’m your number one fan.” And even though Tetsurou was sweaty and definitely stank, Koutarou hugged him just as tightly as before.

Back and forth, they took turns attending each other’s games. The train ride wasn’t too terribly far and Tetsurou saved the money he got from odd jobs to go more often once they started hanging out on some weekends, too. 

Volleyball practice at a park and a sleepover at Bo’s. 

Popcorn and movie night at Tetsurou’s. 

Rifling through all of Koutarou’s stuff at night to figure out how in the world he got his hair to do that. 

Tetsurou’s dad seemed to like the “tall, loud boy” he’d started inviting over and always made sure to fill the kitchen with snacks before a visit. 

Even Kenma liked him. Eventually. “He’s… a lot.”

“Yea, but he’s so nice.”

“Frighteningly so.”

“And fun!”

“He’s good for you.”

The last comment rattled around in Tetsurou’s head for weeks. For a while Kenma had known about how Tetsurou was wondering about who he was, who he was attracted to, what he could call himself.

And then there was Koutarou.

The boy whose legs and arms always ended up on Tetsurou’s futon when he slept over.

The boy who made him jump a little when he saw him get off the train. 

The boy who he looked for at his games. 

The boy who buried his face in Tetsurou’s shoulder during scary parts in movies. 

The boy who hugged him for a bit longer than anyone else. 

The boy who had somehow, so quickly, become such an important part of his life.

The next time he saw Koutarou, they had plans to practice at the park by Koutarou’s house. With his thoughts swimming as he paid attention to all of Koutarou’s little details, wondering how he felt about all of them, his game was off. He was jumpy and scattered. He was so much sweatier than normal. When he finally got in a good spike, Koutarou rushed over from the other side of the net to give him a high five.

Only Tetsurou didn’t let go. He held onto Koutarou’s hand, lowering them down together gently until their clasped hands came to rest between them. 

Koutarou blinked, then took a step forward. Then another. Then another. 

Those strange but wonderful eyes were locked on his own and cautiously, Tetsurou closed the rest of the distance between them, placing a soft kiss on Koutarou’s lips. 

He held his breath as he pulled away, ready to run or die where he stood. 

“Do best friends do that?” Koutarou asked, eyes wide.

“Don’t think so.” Tetsurou replied, stunned.

“Yea, I didn’t think so either.” He paused. “But… I liked it.”

“Me, too.” Tetsurou replied slowly. 

Then those strong arms were holding him like they often did, only this time their lips met again and again and Koutarou’s hands roamed, tenderly caressing Tetsurou’s back, his arms, the soft hairs at the base of his neck. Tetsurou did the same, carefully exploring and learning new ways to appreciate the human force of nature that was Bokuto Koutarou. 

Gradually they kept testing the water, diving a little deeper each time they met up into their growing relationship. Most things stayed exactly the same. He was one of Tetsurou’s best friends, after all, but there were sure things about Koutarou that made him excited and nervous and horny and happy way more than any friend ever could. It was maddening. It was comforting. He felt like a new chapter in his life had opened.

Before he left for the training camp during the summer of his second year, Tetsurou told his dad about how things with Koutarou had changed. For the past few weeks, he’d been dropping hints, hoping his dad would just pick up on his meaning without saying anything, but he had no such luck. 

After he told him, his father had held his breath, clapped him on the back in a half-hug, then rambled on for a full ten minutes about how everyone is who they are, and that’s great, and he’s older, but he’d be there, and he’s thinking, but it’s fine and he just needs to go water the plants. Outside. At 10pm.

When he told Koutarou about it, his face contorted before he caught it and stretched his mouth into a grin. “Sounds like it went pretty okay! Considering.” A silence fell between them as Tetsurou tried to read his boyfriend’s expression, but Koutarou changed the subject. “Hey! You can finally meet Akaashi!” He took hold of Tetsurou’s hand and led him towards the group of Fukurodani players. 

That week, Tetsurou watched his boyfriend play while cheering for him like a crazy idiot. They hadn’t done a particularly good job of being discreet, that being something far outside of Koutarou’s usual patterns, so he just decided to lean in and enjoy the chance to be so open about it. 

But as he watched the future ace play, he also saw the way this upcoming setter with the sleepy eyes somehow lighten Koutarou’s depressive moods and strengthen the moments when he was most proud of himself. 

It made him feel weird. It twisted his guts with a feeling he couldn’t name. He pushed it aside.

Over the next few months, the two of them still talked constantly and spent time together. Though, usually Koutarou came to stay at his house now and when he did Tetsurou’s dad set up a futon for him in the living room instead of in his son’s bedroom. 

When he did go over to Koutarou’s they usually spent the day out of the house. Sometimes Akaashi tagged along. At first Tetsurou worried it would be weird with Akaashi as a third wheel. Then, watching the two of them talk, he worried he’d become the third wheel. Somehow neither of those happened. Akaashi fit into their days together perfectly well.

Tetsurou wasn’t sure if that made him happy or jealous. And he sure couldn’t figure out why his chest tightened when he heard Akaashi laugh. 

He was forced to pick during the week they had off in spring between their second and third years. 

Tetsurou crept up behind Koutarou who was waiting for him on a bench at the train station. He reached around him, snatched his phone, greeting him by saying, “Don’t need this anymore! Your date’s arrived.”

He laughed but Koutarou’s smile faltered before he weakly laughed, too. He tried to grab for his phone, but Tetsurou held it back. “What is it? You’ve been weird lately.”

“It’s nothing. Come on, let’s go.”

Tetsurou dropped his arms to give him his phone back, feeling oddly guilty for doing something they so often did to each other, when he caught sight of what Koutarou had been reading. 

“Relationship advice? Kou, is something wrong?” Tetsurou’s smile faded completely. “What did I do?”

“Nothing!” Koutarou replied forcefully. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” He spat out the last word, turned on his heels and started briskly walking away from the station towards a less-crowded area outside.

When Tetsurou caught up with him, he could tell by the way his shoulders were shaking that he was crying. “Kou, talk to me. Please. What’s wrong?”

Koutarou abruptly stood up straight, swiped his sleeve across his eyes, and growled his response. “I’m wrong. It’s me.”

Back and forth the conversation, if he could call it that, went on exactly the same way without going anywhere, until Koutarou finally caught his breath and spilled everything.

“You’re so wonderful and nice and hot and funny, so everything I’m feeling makes no sense. It just proves I’m all wrong inside, just like I know my family thinks about me.”

Tetsurou shoved his own tears back. Now wasn’t his time to break. He held on. “Nothing’s wrong about you. You’re, like, the best person I know. The best person ever. You always-”

“I’m not, though. I have these thoughts, Tetsurou. You won’t love me once I tell you.”

Tetsurou was certain nothing Koutarou could say would make him not love him anymore. Hurt him, yes. Break his heart, yes. But he could never stop feeling how he did. “Please tell me. I’ll still be here.”

It took him ages to get it all out and the pieces came out all chopped up and out of order as Koutarou spilled out his heart for Tetsurou to hear. 

He liked Akaashi. Not the exact same way he loved Tetsurou, but similar. Too similar to ignore. He loved being alone with Tetsurou, of course, but he liked being around Akaashi, too. And when the three of them were all together he felt so happy, but it was all wrong. He knew it wasn’t right to think that way. 

When Koutarou started repeating himself, Tetsurou finally felt like he could silence him with a kiss. As Koutarou spoke, something inside of him that he hadn’t realized had been locked away opened and Tetsurou felt relieved. Those things he felt maybe had a name now. 

The two of them ended up standing along a muddy riverbank, throwing pebbles as they had a long talk about them, about Akaashi, about the way they looked at the world, their own lives, and how they fit into it.

The sun began to set.

“I think we need to talk to Akaashi.” Tetsurou said to the water. Then he gently clasped Koutarou’s hand in his and looked into his eyes.

Koutarou was still, calmer than normal. He just nodded. 

It took some time to sort out a lot of confusing feelings together. And open communication was a must, but soon enough they were both calling him Keiji. None of it came with a manual, but that was fine. They would figure it out. Together, they would figure everything out. 

Things were confusing, but great, because if holding Koutarou’s hand and kissing him was wonderful for Tetsurou, then getting to open his heart to Keiji, too, was so heart-explodingly wonderful he wasn't sure he could handle it at times.

And then the three of them met a salty blonde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been my fave, fave, fave of the week (yes some of the others have yet to be finished, but oh, this one has a special place in my heart) - it was supposed to be so much shorter but I got carried away. Getting to imagine the beginnings of Bokuroo was a gift and then picturing how Bokuto's heart is just too big for one person was lovely in its own way, too. I hope you enjoy it!


	3. Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a rare free day, Keiji gets his boys to dress up and go out (too bad someone's so sleepy).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 prompts: domestic | ~~“what an excellent day for an exorcism”~~ | night out

_Bokuto POV_

Koutarou walks in the front door and throws his book bag and gym bag on the floor. Why didn’t anybody tell him that working at a high school was going to be way more teaching and planning than actual coaching? Hired for his athletic reputation, he’d been given the traditional coach role of PE/health teacher. Bright-eyed and optimistic, he’d begun his first year of actual teaching (not just working at after-school sports programs) ready to make an impact.

And maybe he was. Probably he was. But good god, their attitudes. Their feelings. Their ability to get right to the meat of someone else’s insecurities and call each other out. It brings back memories and not always the good kind.

He was bonding with the team, though. He was at a small and, perhaps, a little “rougher” public school with a less than stellar win record, but what the team lacked in natural talent they made up for with a hunger to do well. 

“Pick up your bags.” Kei’s voice carries across the house. Koutarou has no idea how he always knows. Kei has a sixth sense for when things are disorderly. 

Scooping them up to put in their proper home, he pauses to wonder why Kei was even home. It’s still pretty early for him to be done with work.

“What are you doing home?” Koutarou rounds the corner into the living room and sees Keiji stretched out on top of Kei on the couch, his head resting on Kei’s chest. Seeing the two of them like that, his heart floods with the best feelings. 

“Took a half day.” Kei replies softly, his hands tracing lines up and down Keiji’s back. He looks over at Koutarou. “I thought he could use a little extra attention once he got up from collapsing after his 400th shift at the hospital this week. And work was kind of light today, so --”

Keiji smiles over at Koutarou, then turns and props himself up on his elbows to face Kei. “Not 400,” he corrects, “but close. Thank you for today.”

Walking over, Koutarou kisses Kei’s forehead and the top of Keiji’s head before settling down on the floor next to them. “Aw, I wish I had a job I could leave if I wanted. What did you two do today?”

“Not much.” Keiji grins wickedly at Kei. “Some intense cardio. Some deep stretching.” He emphasizes the last sentence with a fake moan.

Kei gets his telltale pink splotches on the pale skin of his neck, the blush threatening to creep higher. 

Koutarou laughs loudly. “Now I really wish I could have been here.”

“Then a lot of TV.” Kei adds, still having a hard time looking anywhere but at Keiji. 

“And he made me lunch.”

“It wasn’t much, but,” Kei turns to Koutarou, reaching out his closest hand to slide up his back to the hair on the back of his head, “there’s leftover chicken we saved for you two in there if you want some. There’s a bigger piece if you want to claim it for yourself before Tetsu gets home.” Kei smirks.

Koutarou leans into the warm touch, then kisses them both again before announcing that yes, of course he wants the bigger piece, especially after corralling hormonal teenage boys during volleyball practice. 

When he returns, only Kei is still on the couch. He’s sitting up with his work laptop in his lap.

“Where’s Keiji?” Koutarou asks through his last few bites of chicken. 

Kei doesn’t look up, his eyes carefully scrutinizing something on his screen. “Right after you got up, he jumped off the couch and told me ‘we’re going out tonight.’ So I’m finishing up some work because I guess we’re having a night out?”

Koutarou knows that Kei has the hardest time saying ‘no’ to Keiji. With him and Tetsurou, Kei can put up a fight if he needs to, but Keiji’s the siren of the house -- for all of them, really, luring them to some fantastic doom. It’s a good thing he uses his powers for good. Most of the time.

“So where’d he go?”

Kei shrugs. “Getting ready?”

“It’s only 5!”

“I think there’s dinner involved.” Kei glances up from his laptop, grinning before returning to finish his tasks.

Koutarou walks to Keiji’s bedroom and slides in through the open door. He does his best to sneak up on Keiji, who’s currently picking through clothes in the closet, but he knows he’s too loud. Keiji plays along anyway, pretending to be startled when Koutarou slips his arms around his middle from behind, nestling into the soft locks of Keiji’s hair (how does he always smell so nice?). 

“Everything looks good on you.” He purrs. 

Keiji snorts. “Maybe, but I haven’t been in anything except scrubs or sweatpants in so long. I’m dying.” He sighs dramatically.

“I like you in your scrubs.” That’s entirely true. Keiji keeps asserting to all of them that he’s not a doctor yet, but that hasn’t stopped the number of times they’ve roleplayed as doctor and patients. Koutarou would maybe feel embarrassed by it if he had any shame. How could he? His home life was too awesome and as long as he didn’t interact with any mean people outside or… some people in his family, it stayed that way!

“I picked you out something already, handsome.” Keiji leans back against Koutarou, reaching one hand up to stroke his cheek.

“Ooh, what’d you pick?”

“Go see!”

“Gimme a hint?”

Keiji twists in his arms to face him. He captures Koutarou’s lips in a long kiss before answering. “It makes you look extra strong.” He laughs as Koutarou bounces off to his room to see. 

Later they’re all back in the living room, waiting for Tetsurou to get home. Kei’s in one of his work shirts, though the tie is, of course, absent and there are a few more buttons left blessedly undone. Koutarou wants to lick the pale skin that’s on display, especially after seeing his ass in those jeans, but he holds back - mostly (he got in there in a little while Kei gave in - until it earned him a laugh and a smack). 

Keiji decided on an all-black affair, though the top is shimmering. “I needed something so, so different from those pastel blue abominations I wear everyday.” 

And Koutarou’s chest is all puffed out. He’s really feeling the t-shirt Keiji picked. It’s one of the ones he loves, the ones that shows off all the hard work he puts in to maintaining his physique. He doesn’t hate the pants either. 

His hand is submerged in a bag of trail mix when he hears the front door open.

“Tetsu!” He shouts and skids towards the entryway in his socks. When he finally lays eyes on the last member of their set he stops short. He looks exhausted.

Tetsurou flashes him a weak smile before flopping his head on Koutarou’s shoulder. “I’m home.” He groans.

Koutarou wraps both of his arms around him. “Welcome home, babe. Long day?” He feels a nod against his skin as he rubs circles into his back. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Once he’s on the couch Tetsurou flops over onto Kei. “You guys look nice.” He mumbles and elicits soft smiles around the room.

“Bad day?” Keiji asks, concerned.

“No, just long. And I hurt my back, I think.” Kei leans over, placing a kiss on top of his head. “We going somewhere?”

“Not if you feel bad.” Keiji adds quickly. Koutarou nods in agreement. 

“Nah, I want to.” He sits up, stretching and groaning again. “Just gimme a minute.” 

He starts to stand up, but Kei gently pulls him back. “Rest.” He orders. 

Walking over, Keiji wiggles his fingers. “Tell your doctor where it hurts.” He winks.

Tetsurou smirks, turning to face Kei so Keiji can sit on the other side and work his magic. 

One massage and one power nap later, Tetsurou’s up and dressed, ready to go. He yawns as soon as he announces he’s ready. Kei shoots him a look. Tetsurou brushes it off. “I’m awake!”

To his credit, Tetsurou did do a fine job of staying awake, even though the place Keiji picked had dim, mood-lighting. They sat at a high top table near the bar, sharing food (Kei always sucked his teeth, but shared bites anyway) and ordering drinks to keep the night going. Tetsurou and Kei ordered dark liquor, probably whiskey knowing the two of them, with fancy house-made betters. Bitters. Koutarou would never understand making something that burned on the way down even stronger with things called bitters. He and Keiji would enjoy their delicious drinks way more, obviously. Drinks that came with fruit and syrups. 

“It’s not a pancake, Kou. It doesn’t need syrup.” Tetsurou teased.

“It’s alcohol, Tetsu. It can be sweet and delightful.”

By the time the check rolled around, Keiji swooped it up as the others grabbed for it. Keiji shot them all a stern look. “I asked you all out. I’ll pay.”

Kei held on. “You already do so much. Let me.” 

The three of them often talked about Keiji’s pride. It had its pros and cons. A major downside was that he refused to allow himself to feel like he couldn’t contribute. They all understood that, as a resident, he was financially in a tough place. Plus, after the enormous fight with his parents after he inherited the house and they couldn’t keep it from him, his family cut him off. Neither Koutarou nor Tetsurou made bank or anything, but as an engineer, a clever one at that, Kei was doing alright. And, combined, they were all doing fine.

But helping Keiji took on different forms at different times. Kei let go.

As they walked out into the night, discussing where to go next, Tetsurou dragged his feet behind him. Even Koutarou felt tired after a day of teaching and coaching, but a night out always woke him up. He looked over at Tetsurou, pity in his eyes, and hauled one of Tetsurou’s arms around his shoulders. “Think you can make it?”

“I can.” He yawned. 

Kei shook his head. Keiji popped him on the nose with one finger. “We can go home, sleepyhead.”

Tetsurou tried to protest, but Koutarou could feel him growing heavy against him. Keiji assured him that his need to go out had been quenched by a nice dinner date and the chance to dress up, so a movie before bed wouldn’t be the worst. 

Tetsurou made it ten minutes into the movie before he passed out on Kei’s lap. Koutarou took note of the fact that Kei’s eyes were drooping, too.

He shuts off the movie. “I got a better idea. How about you two catch me up on what I missed earlier?” He wiggles his eyebrows dramatically and Keiji laughs.

Keiji leans in towards him. “I like the sound of that.” He says in a low whisper. He pops of the couch and grabs Koutarou’s forearm, pulling him along. “Coming, Kei?”

“Ten minutes, then I’ll wake him up and we’ll join you two.” He yawns, his head resting against the back of the couch. “Just ten minutes.”

They never show. Koutarou expected it and, honestly, relished time alone with Keiji. He loves all three of them so much, but time with just one of them is precious in its own way. 

Before he turns in for the night, he tries to wake the two of them from the couch. He knows this is only going to hurt Tetsurou’s back more and Kei’s always a little extra grouchy after a night in the living room. 

When neither stirs he weighs his options. There’s a pile of extra blankets in the closet. He could make sure they’re at least warm enough for the night. But then he holds out his hands in front of him, flexing his arms. He’s got a better idea. 

He picks up Tetsurou first. He’s going to be the tougher one anyway. Koutarou folds him against his chest in a bridal carry and carefully dumps him in the room where Keiji and Kei normally sleep. His boyfriend stirs but never wakes up. Koutarou’s not surprised. (The whole reason there’s so many new fire alarms in the house is because they’re all positive Tetsurou could sleep through any emergency.)

When he goes back for Kei, the blonde has his head up but his eyes are still closed. As Koutarou gets closer, he protests. 

“I’m going, I’m going. Don’t need help.” Kei mumbles.

“Too bad. You’re getting it.” Koutarou picks up Kei like he weighs nothing, those long legs dangling over the side. 

He expects another comment, but all Kei does in reply is snuggle his face a little closer to Koutarou’s chest. He tucks them both in snuggly and tight, tucking in the edges of the sheets so they can barely move, and gives them both sloppy kisses before closing the door.

“Keiji, I’m coming back!” He runs down the hallway, nearly slipping on a rug in his haste to rejoin him. He’ll probably miss his run tomorrow morning. That’s just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so soft. Almost too soft. Writing it made me go (♥ω♥*)


	4. I love you all so much it’s scary.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keiji balances the family he was born with and the family he's made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 prompts: family | “it’s halloween. everyone’s entitled to one good scare” | halloween

_Akaashi POV_

Keiji tosses his phone on the bed after hanging up. His mother. Checking in. Making sure he’ll be home for his father’s birthday. Remember the party, Keiji. His partners are coming, Keiji. We are looking forward to seeing you, Keiji.

His translation: thank you for knowing to come alone so we can keep up appearances. That is what matters, after all. I’ll tell everyone about how you’re almost a doctor, but if you mention one thing about your living situation, you’ll have to leave. No we can’t discuss it. We won’t ask and you won’t say anything - ever - and then we can keep having these little get togethers. We all win this way, Keiji. 

He’s analyzed the situation enough times by now. He’ll go. He always will. Keiji hopes the continued invites mean that there’s a glimmer of hope for reconciliation in there somewhere and, while he waits - however long - he gets to see his younger sister and his cousins still. It’s worth it, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking forward to it. 

He’d much rather spend any of his precious days off with the three perfect idiots in his house. 

Rubbing his face with a sigh, he forces himself out of bed and scrawls a note for his boyfriends for when they get home.

_Happy Halloween!_  
I love you all so much it’s scary.  
Hope all of you had good days at work.  
(Tetsu, I finished all the cookies.) 

Then he draws a little smiling pumpkin and heads out the door to catch his bus to the hospital. 

Less than a year. Less than a year left in internal medicine before he can do his fellowship in sports medicine. He’s counting down the days (and counting fellowship application pages) until he he has slightly, ever so slightly more control over his life again. 

On his break he catches up on pictures Koutarou has sent him of himself and Tetsurou at a halloween party. He remembers him mentioning something about one of his closest coworkers having a get-together at her place. Koutarou’s dressed as the actual cutest vampire he’s ever seen, little fangs at all. Tetsurou makes a surprisingly hot Frankenstein-inspired monster. Keiji’s glad he’s not a cat again this year. Those cat accessories have been retired from public use for their more private enjoyment.

Kei’s not there. Keiji’s not surprised. On the one hand, Kei wouldn’t want to go anyway (unless it was all four of them - completing the “set,” so to speak, seems to give him more social confidence). On the other hand, Koutarou hasn’t been at the school long enough to open up to anyone. 

Sure, you can find one really good friend at work, maybe, that you can tell you have a boyfriend. But three? Suddenly the record scratches and the world explodes. 

Keiji has one friend at the hospital that knows. They’ve known each other since they were pre-meds. He remembers the night he told her. She sat up straight, eyes wide while Keiji prepared to run away. Instead she pulled him into a fierce hug and yelled, “that’s so freaking wonderful!”

It is. It really is.

All the other stuff can get shelved away when those three help make that house a home.

When he gets home, it’s nearly 2am. He waves goodnight to the other resident who offered to drive him home and enters the house slowly and silently. 

Setting down his bags, he makes a beeline for the fridge, wondering what leftovers he’ll be able to shove into his starving stomach. He stops short at the kitchen table when he notices half a plate of bat cookies and a lot of crumbs. Some are iced expertly (Tetsurou’s), others have a decent design but the icing is too thin (Kei’s), and some have the black icing oozing off the sides, their eyes dripping into the rest of their bodies. Keiji laughs. Leave it to Koutarou to make the most terrifying bat cookies.

Next to the plate is his note with Tetsurou’s handwriting added to the bottom. 

_MADE SOME MORE.  
WE LOVE YOU, TOO. _

His heart feels warm and full and he selfishly wishes they were all awake right now. 

Instead he takes one of Koutarou’s cookies and nibbles at it as he microwaves enough leftover pieces of meals to make a meal. He’s settled in to his normal routine of eating alone with headphones in as he watches lectures on his phone when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He jumps, pulling out one earbud.

“Oh, sorry, I tried not to scare you.” Kei’s voice registers and Keiji calms down. 

His heart still beating quickly, Keiji chuckles weakly, “It’s halloween. Everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” He hums as he leans back heavily against Kei’s torso, the other earbud falling out. “Why are you up?”

He feels Kei’s shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“That sounds about right.” At least a few times a week Kei’s still up reading when he gets home from a late shift, or he’ll find him asleep on the couch in the morning after he moves sleeping spots to try to trick his overactive brain into shutting down. “I’m glad,” he says softly before quickly adding, “not that you can’t sleep. I’m just glad for some company.”

Kei pulls away to sit down in the chair next to him. He rests his head on folded up arms on the table, looking up at him. He doesn’t have his glasses on and his hair is tousled from his pillow. Keiji tells him about the good things that happened today, or at least the funnier parts. The sadder things he’s tucked away to process later. 

Through his yawns, Kei listens intently, never interrupting but always ready with a reply. 

“That one older lady totally grabbed at my butt again. I’d be offended if she wasn't so old. I’m just impressed. She’s gotten all of us at some point.”

Kei raises an eyebrow and smirks. “I get it. I like your ass, too.”

Keiji snorts. Middle of the night Kei is one of his favorites. “What’d you do while Kou and Tetsu were out?”

“I got caught up on some work. Read. Ate a lot of bats.”

“They are good.”

Kei nods against his arms. “My mom called, too, so that took up some time.”

“She doing well?”

“Of course, just talkative like normal. Akiteru’s kid is still the best and worth spoiling. Her favorite cashier at the grocery store is out because her daughter’s getting married. That bitch in her _ikebana_ class wasn’t there so everybody had a good day. The usual.”

“Your mom did not say ‘bitch.’”

Kei’s eyes open a little wider as he sits up. “She did. I swear.”

They both chuckle at the image then fall quiet.

Keiji sets his fork down and Kei’s hand comes to rest on top. He feels the mood shift and Kei looks at him like he’s been waiting to say something. 

“You still going out of town next weekend?” Kei asks. The question is simple on the surface, but so much lies below. 

“Yea.” Keiji answers, unwilling to add more.

“Are you okay?” He asks, concern painted across his face.

Keiji doesn’t feel like he has any right to complain. Sure he doesn’t have Kei’s mother in all her subtly subversive glory, pride pins donning her huge mom purse. And Tetsurou’s dad seems to think that since he could never make a marriage work, he’s in no place to judge.

But then there’s Koutarou. When he first met him he thought only someone with the sunniest family ever could be as bright as him. Turns out it was the opposite. Impossibly high expectations and a rigid, traditional structure. The signs were there. The immense pressure Koutarou put on himself. How, inside, he staked his self-worth on points and helping the team. How easily he could melt down, until Keiji learned how to help. His younger sisters love the idea of having “a billion fun uncles”, and his older brother sometimes stops by to awkwardly catch up, but he hasn’t spoken to his parents in a long time.

No, Keiji doesn’t think he can complain, not when he’s this happy around them each day, not when he sees his family and lives in his grandmother’s old house. But seeing the way Kei’s looking at him as Keiji’s exhaustion sets in, it chips away at his walls. 

He sags against Kei’s side. “I’m okay.”

Kei rubs Keiji’s back and presses a kiss to his temple, but doesn’t say anything. They sit like that like for some time. Keiji’s unsure if he can give voice to the things he usually keeps tightly locked away. Sometimes he wants to. Sometimes he can. But not tonight.

Tonight he wants to lock them all back away not because he’s consumed with those feelings, but because there’s no point in it.

There are warm arms around him, two sleeping men in beds down the hall that also love him so much, and a plate if bat cookies in front of him. He has too much good in his life to let the other stuff win. 

“Really,” he says with conviction this time, “I’m okay. Thanks to all of you, I’m wonderful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Only a little angst. And then a lot more love. Is it really Halloween or am I celebrating an on-going Valentine's day???


	5. Exactly the way it should be.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That time they almost broke up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OT3+ week 
> 
> Day 5 prompts: forgiveness | ~~“keep your friends close, but your enemies closer”~~ | fresh start
> 
> Me: Let's write fluff, yay!  
> Also me: *takes one look at the prompts for today* Well, time for some angsty feelings!

_Kuroo POV_

No relationship is easy.

It’s especially not easy when there’s no societal standard for what yours could look like. There aren’t relationships that look like yours in TV or in movies. You can’t talk to friends for advice because they have even less of an idea than you do. 

In high school, the four of them created something new together. It was fun and confusing. It was exciting and stressful. They were optimistic. With no road map, they could just do whatever they wanted!

It actuality, it wasn’t that simple.

They fell apart once. 

Koutarou and Tetsurou were seniors in college. They had been living together in cramped student housing since the start of their junior year. 

Keiji was overwhelmed with his pre-med coursework. They saw less and less of him as the months passed and when they did see him, he wasn’t himself. Tetsurou was used to being able to cheer him up, but even Koutarou’s rays of sunshine couldn’t reach him.

As Keiji pulled away, Kei started to, as well. 

Tension built as Tetsurou tried to keep everyone together. It wasn’t enough.

One night Keiji came over to see the three of them and told them he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t split himself into so many pieces. Yes he had his classwork, but also, there had to be a reason relationships like this weren’t the norm. It was too hard. He couldn’t care for so many people and still take care of himself. He wasn’t good enough.

He just needed space. Not forever. Just for now.

That’s what he said, but when he walked out, it felt too final.

The three of them sat in stunned silence. Tetsurou kept waiting for there to be a knock on the door, a call, a text, anything, but nothing came. Kei said good night and left. It’s hard to remember that night. He remembers Koutarou going to the bathroom and crying, but Tetsurou can’t remember what he did. He’s pretty sure he just sat there on the couch waiting to wake up from a bad dream.

It didn’t take long for Kei to follow. Tetsurou and Koutarou already had a good thing going before he or Keiji ever showed up, he said. Without Keiji there, he was just hanging on. The third wheel. He was two years younger and at a university across the city. They had something with each other that he wasn’t sure he was a part of in the same way. He wasn’t angry. He just didn’t know what to do anymore. Kei said he didn’t want come over anymore, but he would still text them. 

He and Koutarou were back to where they started. He could remember feeling complete when he was younger, when they first began dating. Koutarou was all he needed back then to feel excited and like the air around him was filled with possibilities, but he couldn’t return to that feeling now. They were four parts of a whole and two pieces were missing.

Tetsurou tried to give them both space, but he used Kei’s continued, albeit sparse, communication as an opening. After a couple of weeks Kei agreed to see them and they showed up at his campus. They met outside because Kei’s roommate was upstairs. It was dusk and the lamps along the walkway outside of Kei’s residence were already lit. 

When Kei caught sight of Kei, his back turned to them, his shoulders sagging, his blonde hair looking a little longer, a little messier. His breath caught in his chest. God, he’d missed him. He found it impossible to speak. He squeezed Koutarou’s hand.

Koutarou was braver. “Hi Kei.”

Kei jumped and turned around, his expression watery and weak.

“Kei, we’ve missed you.” That was all Tetsurou managed to say before Kei crashed into both of them, trying as best he could to hug them both at once. It was messy. It was vulnerable. It was a tangle of limbs. But when had they known anything different?

That night they walked the length of Kei’s campus letting go of the awful things they’d each let build up inside them. At first Tetsurou found it hard to voice the fear that had crept into his heart (he always wanted to look on the bright side - that’s who he wanted to be for them), but the night demanded honesty. All of it. 

Sitting on the edge of a fountain, Kei between them, the tears had been wiped away. Their emotions had been laid bare. Tetsurou felt raw and open, but better. Kei rested his head on Koutarou’s shoulder but took hold of Tetsurou’s hand.

“I don’t want to go back to my room.” Kei whispered into the night. 

“You don’t have to.” Tetsurou replied quickly, so wanting Kei to come back with them If Keiji was gone for good, it would hurt for a long, long time, but Kei could be there. He was there now. It could stay this way.

Koutarou had to clear this throat again before sounds would leave his throat. He laughed weakly at himself, cracking tired smiles from the other two. “Come back with us. You’re always welcome. You never have to ask.”

Tetsurou felt his words bubble up from his chest. “We love you, Kei.”

Koutarou sniffled and echoed the same words. “We really, really love you and we missed you so much. I can ride the train back with you in the morning.”

“Me, too.”

Kei wiped his sore eyes with his sleeve. “You two have classes.”

“Don’t care.” Tetsurou replied.

“Yea, don’t care. Our Kei’s back.”

Kei ended up making the long commute a few times that week. He even skipped a few classes. Tetsurou joked that’s how he knew Kei loved them, too. 

It was better, but not the best. Not yet.

A few days later, Tetsurou came home from his afternoon classes to see Keiji sitting out their apartment door. He was folded in on himself, head tucked between his knees tucked tight against his chest. When he moved closer, Keiji’s head shot up. His skin was pale, spare the dark circles under his eyes.

When Keiji spoke, his voice was hoarse. “I made the biggest mistake.”

Again, Tetsurou found himself uncharacteristically without words. He just unlocked the door and motioned for Keiji to follow him in. Though he’d been there countless times before, Keiji stood in the entryway like a stranger while Tetsurou put down his things and took off his shoes. 

Tetsurou slumped against the wall and slid down it, coming to rest on the floor with his legs out in front of him. “Sit down, will ya?” His casual tone belied the strange brew of hurt and hunger coursing through him. 

Keiji did. They sat in silence for a long while. Tetsurou was going to wait. After all these years, he knew Keiji, knew how his emotions ran deep. He felt hard, but he buried so much under his usual disguises - sarcasm, sexiness, seriousness. Tetsurou knew ways to help those walls come down, but today, he just waited. 

When Keiji finally spoke it was like waves crashing on land during a tumultuous storm. He hadn’t felt like himself for a while. He said what he did. It was all a huge mistake. He knew it the next morning. He woke up sick but dragged himself to class and broke down in the middle of it. A classmate took him to the hallway, but he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He was yelling or crying, but he was so far away from himself, like he was watching someone else fall apart.

His professor made him go to the counseling center. He fell asleep. When he woke up he spilled everything. Not just about them, but his family, his classes, how it felt like he could never get his head above water. He threw up. He said everything. He calmed down.

Then he felt so ashamed. 

As he tried to piece himself back together, the guilt weighed him down. Keiji knew he had pushed away the three best people in his life and he didn’t deserve them anymore. He punished himself by staying away.

But he couldn’t anymore. 

Tetsurou had no idea how long Keiji spoke. There were long pauses in between parts of the story as Keiji gathered himself. Keiji never once looked at him and he didn’t cry. But Tetsurou felt pinpricks at the back of his eyes whenever Keiji’s voice faltered. 

“I know I don’t deserve to say this, but I need all of you. My life is so much more with you all in it. I know, I know I messed up, but I’m trying to learn how to share, trying to learn how to talk to you all. I need this, I need this, I need this--” He repeated the final words like a prayer until Tetsurou cut him off.

“We need you, too.” Tetsurou felt the first hot streaks of tears run down his cheeks at he pulled Keiji to him, holding him hard like he could float away if he didn’t hang on for dear life. 

Keiji told Koutarou when he came home, then Kei. Each time there were more cracks in his pearly facade as the real Keiji started to break out. By the end of his third time saying it, his neck and cheeks bore red splotches and his eyes were puffy and red to match. 

But they were together.

And together they were one emotionally drained, ugly looking bunch. A fact Tetsurou pointed out when he caught sight of himself in a mirror. He cackled, the sound rumbling deep in his throat before bursting out. “Oh god, look at me. Look at us!”

“But there’s four of us.” Koutarou added.

“Four hideous men.” Kei chimed in. 

“Four.” Was all Keiji could say.

Tetsurou looked at the way their faces were framed by the mirror and he knew that none of this would ever be easy. Love is a daily choice. And he’d make it everyday for the rest of his damn life if he could be this lucky. “Exactly the way it should be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well _that_ was a bit of a bummer! Tomorrow will be gentler.
> 
> The fluff's just not worth it without the angst! Obviously. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> It can't be all easy. They have to *earn* it. (¬‿¬) Angst makes the good times so much sweeter.


	6. Koutarou has a plan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto has some big, wonderful plans for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OT3+ week day 6 prompts: future | “i’m doing this for you, and that’s the only reason” | ~~the parents~~

_Bokuto POV_

Koutarou has a plan. He is big and strong and charming and he can get things done. He’s determined to get this one done.

Koutarou wants a wedding. A real, dress up in his best clothes, share his feelings about the three most amazing people in the universe in a room full of people they care about, eat cake, and call Tetsurou, Keiji, and Kei his husbands forever kind of wedding.

He knew he would need to be subtle at first.

Casually, he brings up how nice they all might look in tuxedos over dinner one night. Then he sneakily leaves magazines open to pages with cakes, flowers, freaking amazing tablescapes (god, Koutarou’s going to create so much freaking beautiful ambiance they’re going to drown in romance). 

Turns out subtlety isn’t one of his strengths.

Plus, one morning Kei finds his mood board not-so-secretly tucked behind his bed when he’s cleaning.

Again. Subtlety. Not a strength. 

“Don’t you ever think about the future?” Koutarou asks, arms swinging out wildly like he’s going to literally embrace the future with open arms.

Three sets of eyes look back at him around the dinner table. Dinner’s long gone, but they’re all still going back for more of the apple tart Tetsurou made yesterday to cope with the stress from an annoying renovation client. 

“Well, sure. I think about finishing my residency, my fellowship and finally being a doctor.” Keiji puts down his fork after scraping his dessert plate clean. 

“And you could be a doctor husband.” Koutarou emphasizes the last word.

Tetsurou replies with his mouth full. “I think about it but, like, I never saw a,” he pauses, swallowing first, “wedding.” He says the word with an inscrutable look on his face. “I just see us. In this house. Getting old and ugly together.”

“Speak for yourself, old timer.” Kei smirks. “But yea, that’s more or less what I see. I hadn’t given it much thought.”

“Well, give it thought now! Can’t you see it?” Koutarou stands up abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair. “It’s spring. No, no, summer, ‘cause like, so many of our beginnings happened in summer, yea?” As he talks, he picks up speed and he uses his gestures to add to his ideas. “And we’d all look so nice. We could do it Japanese style, because I think you’d all look fantastic, but I think I like tuxes more. I have a bunch of pictures of ones I liked saved - anyway. I don’t know. We could do both!”

Koutarou misses the way his boyfriends are looking at him with such adoration in their eyes when he takes another huge breath so he can keep going. “I want to do it inside because I worry about the weather, but I see it happening at some place with huge windows. Maybe by some water? A lake or something. And there’s this big, beautiful arch we can all stand under and say our vows. And a dance floor for later. And, like, all our favorite foods. A huge cake. Our favorite drinks. And we could play all of the songs that make us think of each other while we dance with all of our friends.” He sits back down, catching his breath.

By the time he’s done, the other three are sitting there frozen in their own reactions. Tetsurou’s eyes have gone glassy. Keiji’s typically cool expression has given way to wide eyes and parted lips. Kei looks the same, but his skin betrays him as his ears and cheeks bloom into a deep, rosy shade - his typical allergic reaction to outburst of sincerity. 

Tetsurou is the first to reply. “That,” he says strongly, “is the best idea I’ve ever heard.” Koutarou sits up straight in his chair, his eyes shimmering like stars.

“I don’t mind it either,” Kei starts slowly, a smile creeping onto his lips, “but when would something like this even happen?”

“Not right away! We can take our time.” Koutarou reassures.

“But Kou, there’s something you’re forgetting.” Keiji smiles.

“Oh, I know. There’s a lot of details that will come later. Right now I’m just dreaming big picture, like how--”

“Not that. It’s just,” Keiji rests his head gentle on slender fingers, his elbow propped up on the table, “usually before a wedding there’s a proposal.”

Koutarou’s eyes grow as large as the plates in front of them. “You’re right! I got that. I can do that. Unless, you all want to? How does this work?”

Tetsurou shrugs, laughing. “It’s your idea. You can go for it. Whenever you want to.”

Kei looks anxious the idea of a surprise. “Alright, but I’m doing this for you, Bo, and that’s the only reason.”

“You know that isn’t true.” Tetsurou teases. 

Kei grimaces until the act drops and laughter bubbles out, slowly at first then in loud bursts that has the rest of them grinning or laughing along like a bunch of love-drunk fools.

So, Koutarou returns to planning. He decides to not worry about rings. They’ll save up for those at the wedding, the important ones. He decides he wants them to all be together when it happens, not one-by-one.

After that, he has no idea.

Koutarou fills notebooks with ideas, pros and cons lists, sketches, and even more magazine clippings, but everything comes up short. It addles his brain for weeks and weeks, but he’s going to get it right, he knows. It will be perfect as long as he takes his time and thinks it through.

If only drunk Koutarou could remember that.

It’s well past midnight and they’ve spent the evening celebrating Keiji getting his name in the acknowledgements of a published article. He insists it’s not that big of a deal, but his grin shows how proud he really is. 

Kei’s the first to fall past the line from tipsy intro drunk. He always is. Kei’s been a lightweight forever, but none of them can ever mention it. It puts him in such a sour mood, and who wants to ruin the joy of a giddy, drunk Kei?

Not Tetsurou, who’s always right behind him. Koutarou swears it’s all the whiskey they drink. 

But then he usually peers over at Keiji and realizes he’s secretly, quietly gotten very drunk. Keiji becomes a gorgeous drunk statue carved from marble, that is, until he wants to dance.

Koutarou’s always the last to go. Naturally, he thinks, because he is obviously the strongest. But even he has his limits, and by the time they get home he’s stripped off his coat and sweater and he’s walking through their front door in a thin t-shirt ready to tear it from his body. 

He stumbles in first, ready to drink a ton of water and finally get the rest of these layers off. He peels off his shirt, but when he gets to his pants, he trips into the hallway, landing gracelessly, splayed out on the hardwood floors. Dazed, he quickly sits up, laughing hysterically until he focuses on the sight of the three loves of his life looking at him in a mix of light concern and amusement, the night sky filled with stars behind them through their still-open door and all he can think is, “whoa.”

He sits up on both knees, then remembers it’s just supposed to be one. The words he’s practiced are nowhere in his mind, but they don’t matter. They weren’t right anyway. 

He just lets his heart run free. “I love you all so, so, so much. Tetsurou, you are so hot. No, more than that. Obviously. You work so hard to keep us happy and together. You’re like a hot, smart therapist that’s super funny and sarcastic. And you can build shit with your strong hands and also bake, like, anything ever.

“Keiji, I don’t know how you knew how to help me calm down or feel better when we first met, but you do it for all of us all the time. You’re going to be a freaking doctor because you want to help people so much and you help us so much everyday. We love your little notes and all the things you do to remind us all the time how important we are to you.

“Kei, you’re the youngest, but clearly the smartest. I think we would all be living in chaotic filth without you. You keep us all sane, but, like, you’re secretly hilarious and not-so-secretly really sweet. We’re so lucky to see that side of you. Everyday we feel special because you trust us with your real self and you do so much to help us as a weird little family.

“I can’t picture my life without all of us together. I want to yell about that to a room full of people and promise that we’ll be together always. That’s what I want more than anything, so, can we get married?”

There’s hardly time for the stream of “yes” or “yes, you big idiot” to register before they’re intertwined on the floor, a tangled mess of tears and sniffles, lips and limbs. They will, in the morning, recover from a night of drinking and sort through all of Koutarou’s notebooks and together dream about that day. It doesn’t matter if it’s three months from now or three years from now. The date isn’t important. Everything that matters they already have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I loved writing this so freaking much. Sometimes I just sit and think about how much I'd love to hug Bokuto.


	7. The House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little different -- No one's POV - just a little walk through their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late! meep! I just didn't like what I had written for this yesterday, so I restarted last night. 
> 
> OT3+ week Day 7 prompts: writer’s choice | ~~“how do you see all of this when it’s done?” | au/crossover~~

Their neighborhood is halfway up a steep hill, the kind of hill that reminds everyone that this land used to be impossibly mountainous but time has worn everything smoother, kinder. There are trees along the road and in early march, and before everyone loses their minds over the cherry blossoms closer to the train station and the nearby park, the plum blossoms along their road remind them that winter is ending, new beginnings are on the horizon.

The entrance to their neighborhood is about twenty minute walk from the nearest train station (thirty minutes if you’re taking your time, or drunk, and five to ten minutes if you’re on your bike and hauling ass so you don’t miss your train). There are plans to buy a car once they save enough money so they can pick each other up from the station in bad weather and make grocery shopping simpler, but for now they walk or bike up the tree-lined hilly road to their little house.

The house is old and it sat empty for several years before they moved in. They were all so thankful for Tetsurou’s carpentry skills and general handiness. Without him, the necessary repairs would have taken so much longer and been so much more expensive. They all, of course, helped. Koutarou could lift basically anything. Kei used his civil engineering knowledge as often as it applied. And Keiji did a great job helping with the organizing and getting all the permits and other legal stuff taken care of.

But it was Tetsurou’s project. And that was perfectly okay because it meant they got to watch the way Tetsurou focused on his craft while he worked. He looked good, really good, tearing down drywall, leaning over a table saw, pulling his shirt over his head to cool down outside. Sometimes he’d catch them staring and really play up how smug he felt about that. No one complained. 

And though the renovations are on-going as they continue to make the place their own, they’ve settled in to the warm two-story home. There’s a driveway, now filled with only bikes, and a small metal gate that leads to their walkway. Next to the gate handle is the traditional name plate (only they’ve managed to shove four surnames on it - it’s the only way their house looks any different from others on their block). The walkway is just poured concrete, cracked in some places (on the future “to do” list”) and lined with bushes that Koutarou and Keiji planted one afternoon (they bloom in the spring). 

The front door opens into a large, traditional entrance space with floor-to-ceiling dark wood that makes them all thankful for the large windows that brighten up the space. None of them have any idea how to decorate it correctly. Keiji tries to think back to what his grandmother did, but all he remembers is lots of huge flower arrangements and paintings. They’ll figure it out at some point. Right now it’s an organized chaos of jackets and shoes, gym bags and sports equipment.

From the entryway, the right leads to the stairs that take them to the bedrooms, but their usual path once they come home is through the arch on their left. Down a short hallway is a room that Keiji remembers being a fancy sitting room for guests when his grandmother lived here, but now it’s just their living room. Two couches sit against the walls, forming an “L,” facing the TV that looks too modern in a house like this. The space looks lived in with hoodies or abandoned socks dotting the floor and furniture. There’s always been a strict rule about using coasters on the coffee table in front of the two couches, but it’s dotted with rings anyway. And it’s a requirement that there be at least two blankets on the backs of the couches for Kei at all times. He asserts that everyone needs them, and certainly sometimes that’s true, but it’s always Kei who’s wrapped up like a burrito before autumn has even had time to really get going. 

Through a sliding door is their dining room that’s attached to the kitchen. Usually the door is left open so they can always talk to whoever is cooking (usually Koutarou or Kei) and so, in the winter, the heat from preparing stews carries throughout the house. It’s also not a bad idea to let the sugary sweetness from whatever Tetsurou’s baking to fill their home with the comforting scents of vanilla, citrus, or whatever wonderful ingredients he’s using. 

There’s a dining room table, heavy and well-worn, where they actually eat their meals. It’s so different from eating in front of the TV like they did at their old place. And even though their schedules make it difficult to always eat all together, they make the effort, even if it means having a really late dinner just to make sure every single person in that home feels loved. 

Upstairs there are three bedrooms. Two are usable, the third one is a joke it’s so small. Tetsurou nicknamed it “the cave,” but Keiji uses it as a nice, quiet place to study. It’s narrow, but just big enough for a desk, a chair, and the decrepit bean bag from Koutarou and Tetsurou’s first place that they can’t seem to part with. Honestly, Keiji doesn’t mind the company when one of them plops down into the sagging shape to read or nap. Kei’s in there often, reading one of his true crime novels. 

Kei and Keiji’s bedroom is next to “the cave.” It faces the back of the house with two large windows overlooking their sad attempt at a vegetable garden (they’re going to try harder this year to make it work). Kei sleeps on the side closest to the window and Keiji is closer to the door. Even when they swap and sleep in the other room, they like to keep their “sides” of the bed. Tetsurou and Koutarou like to make fun of their reading lamps they each have clamped to the headboard. 

Koutarou and Tetsurou’s room is across the small hallway, facing the front of the house. They get the first hit of sunrise every morning. There aren’t any reading lamps, but Tetsurou always has whatever portable gaming system Kenma’s really into on his bedside table so they can play together at night. Koutarou’s side is sparse. The man just falls asleep whenever he lays his head on a pillow. 

Throughout the house, they’re still working on decorating. They’ve traded out the posters they had up in their old place for more framed pictures of the four of them together. Gone are the huge, worn movie posters, but they all agree they like looking at pictures from the things they’ve done together more. There’s photos from their first apartment, from each of their graduations (high school and college), from their vacations together (most of them are from their trip to Okinawa two years ago), and the smaller, blurrier but wonderful ones from their beginnings in high school. 

Sometimes at night on the couches they’ll start reminiscing and they’ll count up how many years they’ve all been together. Somehow the number is both unbelievably long (they’re still young - how is it possible they’ve been together that long?) and unbelievably short (it’s tough to remember what life was like before this). It’s exciting to imagine the future together, too. 

Curled up on the two couches, Kei will speak from his mountain of blankets about the next project they should do in the house. Tetsurou’s eyes will light up as he gets creative with ideas of how to leave his mark on their home. Keiji will stare out the window and sound hopeful as he imagines what it will be like when he’s finally done with his residency. Koutarou will give him a big hug and then launch into another story about something one of his players did at practice. Their voices and their laughter will carry through the house as they start to doze at night, each of them not yet willing to close their eyes just yet, each of them ready to sacrifice some sleep for a few more waking moments together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OT3+ week is over! I am truly thankful to this event for getting me to the chance to breathe life into an outline I'd had for ages now. And though it's over, I'm not done! Like I said before, I'll keep adding this little universe when the mood strikes. They're my ot4 for a reason!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read this week. I hope it brought you some enjoyment. And if you left kudos, bookmarked, or took the time to write a comment, my goodness, thank you so much!


	8. Yard Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keiji and Kei enjoy the view as Koutarou and Tetsurou work on their fence.

_Akaashi’s POV_

Though it’s still early spring, a short spell of unusually warm weather has decided to sweep through the Tokyo area. It’s left the four of them with a warmer weekend to be outside and stop feeling so cooped up indoors. Keiji, for one, knows he needs some fresh air. If he’s not stuck in “the cave” to study upstairs or passed out asleep in bed, then he’s stuck in the hospital. He knows it’ll be worth it and he’s past the halfway point, but he’s exhausted. Keiji wants a Saturday with no work and a bunch of sunshine and he’s going to get it. 

A freshly poured mug of coffee in his hand, Keiji’s on the back porch sitting on the wooden bench he and Tetsurou repainted last fall. The coffee’s good, but the view is better. Koutarou’s working up a sweat while fixing a weak spot in the fence around their property. When he got out here, Koutarou was already hard at work setting up everything so he could work. “Looking good, babe.” Keiji had said when he sat down and Koutarou’s chest had puffed out just a little, like it always did. Now Keiji was just waiting for the old t-shirt to make its way to the ground.

“I thought you’d still be asleep.” Keiji turns to see Kei, still in his pajama pants, walking his own cup of coffee out to the porch. He pecks Keiji on the cheek and settles down beside him. 

“My brain has no idea how to keep a regular schedule anymore.” Keiji takes another sip of coffee, his eyes gravitating back towards Koutarou with a power drill in his large hands. “I can’t wait to be a doctor with, like, normal hours.”

“Neither can we.” Keiji hears the smile in Kei’s voice. “But I’m happy you have today off.”

Keiji leans over a little so his head is on Kei’s shoulder. “Where’s Tetsurou? I thought he was up.”

“He is - was. He went for a run then passed out again on the couch.”

Keiji snickers. That sounds about right. 

Koutarou puts the drill down on the work table he brought outside and must notice that he now has two audience members now because - yep - there goes the shirt.

“We are so blessed.” Keiji whispers.

Kei laughs. “It’s not even hot enough outside.”

“I don’t care.”

“Yea, me neither. Good view to wake up to.”

Together they drink their coffee in the soft silence they usually share, only this time their eyes are glued to the powerful sight in front of them. Keiji knows Koutarou’s aware that he’s being watched and that he loves it. Sometimes he’ll stretch dramatically, curling his biceps like they really needed to do that to feel better. Or he’ll pop his bottom out more than he needs to while he uses a power drill on the boards in the fence. 

“This is the start of a porno.” Tetsurou’s sleepy voice calls from beside them and Kei jumps a little, startled.

“Is not. It’s wholesome morning entertainment.” Kei replies.

Keiji shakes his head. “I’m with Tetsu. My coffee’s done and now I’m thirsty.” His tone is deadpan as always, but he loves it when he gets a cackle from Tetsurou and a chuckle from Kei. He can be funny, too.

“You know, that fence was technically on my to-do list. It is kind of what I do for a living after all.” Tetsurou says. 

“I know. You’ve just been really busy, it’s fine.” Keiji replies.

“No one’s stopping you.” Kei pauses and sips his coffee. “You can go help him if it means that much to you.” He looks up at Tetsurou, a teasing lilt in his voice. 

Tetsurou stretches his arms, smacking his hands on the porch railing when they come down. “I know I’m being manipulated and I don’t even care.”

Tetsurou doesn’t even wait for the work to warm him up. He tosses his shirt on the porch as he saunters over towards Koutarou. He plants a sloppy kiss on his lips before he joins Keiji and Kei’s morning entertainment. 

“God, look at that back.” Kei says appreciatively.

“Whose?” 

“Both.”

Keiji hums in agreement, slipping his fingers into Kei’s free hand. Eventually he’ll be productive, too. Maybe he and Kei can work on assembling the raised beds in the garden and lay the groundwork for their vegetable garden this year. He really wants it to do well and, honestly, being outside and getting his hands dirty can be the best relief from using his brain nonstop for weeks on end. But for now, Keiji’s going to sit. He’s going to hold Kei’s hand, probably get another cup of coffee at some point, and enjoy the slow morning.

And if Tetsurou’s right and this turns out to be the start of a porno, well, Keiji thinks that might be okay, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! I missed this universe, their cute house together, and wanted to jot down this little idea I had for them.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡


	9. Mama Tsukki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves Mama Tsukki.

_Tsukishima’s POV_

Tsukishima steps inside their home and checks the shoes in the entryway to see if anyone has made it home before him. He knows Keiji’s working and he thinks he remembered something about Tetsurou meeting up with friends after work, but he’s surprised Koutarou beat him home. 

Usually Koutarou stays late with the boys on his team, even on evenings when they don’t have practice. He helps them with homework (Kei laughs at the thought of Koutarou’s face scrunching up in thought as he works out a math problem) or serves as a listening ear for all of the far too difficult life things they’re all dealing with.

But, sure enough, Kei hears Koutarou’s voice drifting through the hallway. Kei slips off his shoes and sets down his bag to follow the sound into their living room. Koutarou’s sprawled out on the couch in his coaching tracksuit, one arm thrown over the back of the couch, the other holding his phone to his ear.

“Oh!” Koutarou smiles when he sees him. “Your other son just walked in. -- No, not that one. The one you gave birth to.”

Kei grimaces as he walks closer.

“Your mom says ‘hi.’” Koutarou whispers at him like it’s a secret.

Kei leans over from the side of the couch and presses a kiss to Koutarou’s forehead. “Hi mom.” He stands up again and starts to walk away, eager to change out of his work clothes but Koutarou stops him.

“Okay I’ll tell him -- her exact words were ‘say hello to my baby and tell him I’ll catch up with him later.’”

Kei feels the tip of his ears grow red. It doesn’t matter that he’s a grown man with a job and three live-in boyfriends, his mother can still embarrass him.

While he’s in the kitchen making his usual post-commute home cup of tea, he hears Koutarou’s voice carry on pieces of a conversation.

“--no, this week was better.”

“--she said what to you?”

“--we’ve been using the slow cooker you got us. I liked this one soup Kei made where --”

Kei lingers in the kitchen after his tea has finished steeping. He doesn’t want to walk back through and take any of Koutarou’s attention. It’s a fact that Koutarou talks to his mother more than he does. There’s no animosity there. Most of the time Kei’s glad that she gets updates about his life from someone else other than him. But mostly he’s glad that Koutarou gets a mother to talk to at all. Kei knows how hard it’s been for him.

He counts in his head how many years it’s been since Koutarou spoke with his parents. He swallows hard and stares into his tea.

Koutarou is like a hug became a person, like a ray of sunshine took human form. All he does is bring so much joy to other people’s lives. Sure, when he falls, he falls hard, but it’s no wonder he’s so tough on himself.

His parents are missing out on so much.

Kei grips his hands around his mug too hard even though it’s still very hot. He sighs and counts what blessings he can see. At least Koutarou’s older brother lets him see his niece. She doesn’t understand why her uncle comes over after everyone else has already left her birthday party, but she quickly forgets her confusion when Koutarou picks her up and flies her around her backyard. Koutarou’s sisters, too, now that they’re getting older, are making their own choices to meet up with him when they can. It’s just all so secretive.

“Bye Mama Tsukki!” Koutarou sings from the living room and Kei walks towards the room, peering around the corner.

“You’re home early.”

Koutarou picks his head up from where it was practically bent over the armrest. He swings his legs back onto the floor. Kei has a love/hate relationship with the way Koutarou sits like a toddler with his arms and legs in all the wrong places. 

“Yea! They’re spraying for bugs in the gym and the outside courts were way too soggy from all the rain. We ran some laps and went home.” He pats the spot on the couch next to him and Kei happily sits down. “Is this when you usually get back? I’m jealous.”

Kei snorts. “No. I worked crazy late yesterday so I pretty much just snuck out. If I’m not getting paid for overtime then I have to find my ways of evening things out.”

Koutarou scoots closer and slings an arm around Kei’s shoulder, playing with the hairs on the back of his head. “Rule breaker.”

Kei shrugs like he’ll proudly wear the label. “You don’t seem to be complaining.”

“Nah, I’m happy you’re home early, too. It’s fate.”

Kei rolls his eyes but he snuggles closer under Koutarou’s arm, careful not to spill his tea.

“Wanna go for a run?”

“God no.”

Koutarou laughs and Kei feels the delightful rumbles from his spot against Koutarou’s chest. “TV then?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Kei finishes his tea while Koutarou flips through channels until they end up on some reruns of a show they used to watch. After the last sip he sets down his mug -- on a coaster, he’s not actually a rule breaker -- and settles back into Koutarou’s warm embrace, closing his eyes.

“Your mom’s going to call you later.”

“I thought she might.”

“And she said you need to reply to the family chat because Akiteru sent new pictures of your nephew.”

“Will do.”

“And she said she needs to talk to all of her boys soon.”

Kei grins. “That sounds about right, too.”

Keiji’s the next to come home. He crashes on top of Kei’s legs on the couch and almost immediately falls asleep. He was up way before any of them this morning. Tetsurou’s there not long after, though the sun’s gone down and Kei’s pulled blankets on top of him and Keiji.

That night over leftovers from the slow cooker at dinner, they set up Kei’s phone so his mom can video chat with them all while they eat. She asks way too many questions about how they’re doing and uses all the new words she learns in her lgbtq parent support group to ask them way too much about the more intimate details of their lives. Kei and Keiji go pale but Koutarou and Tetsurou howl with laughter.

“Relax, Kei-kun. It’s a healthy part of life.” She says, but even she's laughing.

“Oh my god, please stop.” Kei buries his head in his hands.

“Fine, fine. But you all know you can talk to me anytime, right? About anything?”

They all nod and utter their positive replies. Of course they know this. She reminds them every time. And even though his blush has spread like a wildfire over his skin, Kei’s thankful for it. Some days he might forget to feel grateful, but it’s nights like these where the feeling seeps deep into his bones.

As they say their goodnights, he reminds himself to text Akiteru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mama Tsukki is very proud of all five of her sons.
> 
> I have so many fluffy headcanons for their little house. And even though there's some angst sprinkled in, there's just way too much goodness with the four of them, right?   
> Right!? ~ヾ(＾∇＾)


	10. No one writes porn about engineers.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto cooks dinner. Kei helps. Tetsurou and Keiji barge in with helpful/unhelpful additions to the conversation.

_Bokuto POV_

Koutarou feels Kei behind him before he hears him enter the kitchen. Their home’s slender giant is surprisingly light on his feet. Koutarou jumps a little when he feels Kei’s fingers slide up his arms.

Kei’s head lands on his shoulder. He peers over Koutarou to the stove in front of him. He must have had a hard day, Koutarou figures. Kei’s always more prone to being cuddly if he’s exhausted from a frustrating day at work.

“You didn’t have to start cooking without me.” Kei yawns, slipping his arms around Koutarou’s middle.

“Careful.” Koutarou backs up slightly, putting distance between them and the hot pan in front of him. “I didn’t mind. Practice is always shorter on Wednesdays and the grocery had a sale on,” he holds out the sound in a sing voice as he points to the counter with his cooking spoon, “mackerel, so I got some ideas.”

Kei kisses the spot just in front of his ear and yawns as he pulls away, stretching his arms wide before settling them heavily at his sides. Koutarou turns down the heat and sets down his utensil so he can greet Kei properly - hugging him way too hard and lifting him off his feet. Kei struggles, like he always does, but Koutarou won’t put him down until plenty of sloppy kisses have properly messed up his hair and put a smile on his face.

Once his feet are back on the floor, Kei loosens the tie around his neck and tosses it on the back of a chair. He rolls up his sleeves and moves in to help cook, but Koutarou gently shoos him away. “Go get changed first. Just be careful, Keiji’s still sleeping.”

“Figured he would be. Tetsurou home?”

“Yea, in the shower.” Koutarou thinks back to how Tetsurou looked when he got home - bronzed from being out in the sun, sweaty and covered in a day’s work. He sure smelled bad but god, he was something to behold. “You ever think of how lucky we are to have a hot carpenter living in our house?” Koutarou chuckles.

Kei snorts softly, turning back around before leaving the kitchen. “How could I not? He constantly reminds us.” Kei rolls his eyes. “But yes. It’s pleasant.”

“And a hot doctor.”

“Extremely accurate.” The thin line of Kei’s lips slowly turns into a sly smile. “And a hot teacher.”

Koutarou feels a little heat in his cheeks as he laughs. “And a hot engineer!”

“No one says that. That’s not a thing.”

“But it’s true.”

“No one writes porn about engineers.” Kei calls back over his shoulder as he finally walks out of the kitchen to change clothes.

While Kei’s gone, Koutarou returns to cooking, humming a happy, little tune as he stirs sauteing vegetables and checks on the fish in the grill under the stove. He’s alerted to Tetsurou’s presence when he hears the shuffling of bare feet on the floor and the opening of the fridge.

“Don’t spoil your dinner.”

“I won’t.” Tetsurou says, mouth already filled with half a chocolate eclair from a batch he made earlier in the week. “I’m hungry enough to eat everything.”

“Kei says they don’t make porn about engineers.” Koutarou abruptly changes the subject, turning to catch Tetsurou’s reaction. 

Tetsurou cackles, nearly spitting out part of the filling, but he doesn’t miss a step. “Sure they do.” 

“That’s what I said! Hot carpenters? Sure. Hot doctors? Definitely. Hot teachers? Yes. Hot engineers? Probably.”

“There’s something in there with bridges. Hard concrete pipes. Girders.”

“There’s notes about different types of lubes in his work way too often for this to not be a thing.”

They trade stupid puns back and forth until they’re both giggling like they’re in high school again. Kei steps around the corner and enters the conversation with, “I literally said ‘shaft-in-hand’ in a meeting today, very closely followed by the word ‘orifice.’ You two have no idea.”

Together, Koutarou and Tetsurou proceed to draw more engineer porn ideas from Kei. He pretends to be over it the entire time, but he never stops feeding the conversation, even as he picks up where Koutarou left off in his cooking. Through all the snickering they keep reminding themselves to keep it quiet because Keiji’s still out after a late night/early morning shift. With the three of them dressed in sweatpants or old pajama shorts and favorite t-shirts, it feels strangely reminiscent of late night secret hangouts at summer training camp, minus one very important person.

So it’s not a giant leap when the conversation lands on Koutarou’s team. “Had they all left by the time you got out of there?” Tetsurou asks, definitely not sneaking a cookie from the kitchen table as he takes a seat, getting out of the way of the two dinner chefs.

“Mostly. Only two second years were left. They stay all the time.”

Tetsurou leans back against his chair, humming wistfully, “Oh if only all four of us had gone to the same school." His tone drops deeper with suggestion. "The things we could have done together in an empty club room.”

“Your mind would go there.” Kei sneers.

“What? It’s romantic.” Tetsurou asserts, stressing every syllable for emphasis.

“It’s horny, is what it is.”

“How can it be horny if I’m talking about a past that didn’t happen?”

“That’s a fantasy. That’s literally where horny thoughts are born.”

“It wasn’t a fantasy at training camp.”

“See? Horny. Proof.”

“Oh my god.” Koutarou interrupts their bickering, setting the bowl he was holding down on the counter hard with a bang. “Do you think that’s what they’re doing?”

“Who?” Tetsurou asks.

“My students. Oh my god.” He repeats, mind reeling.

Kei looks at him pitifully. “Kou, I doubt it.”

“Yea don’t worry about it.”

But Koutarou is past worrying about it. He’s frantically panicking over it. His team is his responsibility. But they’re just kids. But they were all just kids once. And the things they did -- “Oh my god.” He repeats again. “What if they’re -- I mean -- they’re friends but -- they wouldn't -- but we all were -- Keiji and I --”

“Were absolutely model students one hundred percent of the time.” Keiji enters the kitchen, shuffling in on fluffy socked feet, still in his pajamas - soft, old flannel pants and one of Tetsurou’s old t-shirts. He sits down in a chair next to Tetsurou and pulls off the end of an eclair to eat.

“Except for when your teammates caught you two in the club room.” Tetsurou raises an eyebrow.

Keiji shakes his head decisively. “Nope. Never happened. Rumored, yes, but we were never caught.” He says the last bit proudly.

“But you --”

“Oh absolutely.” Keiji giggles.

The sound is almost enough to pull Koutarou out of his who-let-me-be-the-responsible-adult-in-charge spiral. Keiji’s giggles can solve most problems, but his heart is pounding a little too hard in his ears for the sound to reach deep enough to work. He feels a poke in his ribs and turns to see Kei looking at him.

“You’re fine. They’re fine. It’s okay.” Kei doesn’t deliver sympathy in a soft voice. He delivers it like it’s a cold, hard fact that must be accepted. Koutarou listens. His heart rate slows a little.

“Plenty of kids stay late to practice because they’re insane. Remember Oikawa?” Keiji offers.

“Yea, like him and Iwaizumi weren’t--”

“Not helping!” Kei cuts off Tetsurou before he can finish the thought. “Statistically, it’s not likely.”

Koutarou’s eyes grow large as he stares back at Kei. “Statistically? Statistically?! Look around. ‘Four out of four high school volleyball players likely to be fooling around,’ says recent study of our kitchen.”

Even Kei can’t hold back the snicker as Koutarou’s panic resurfaces, but the train of thought is stopped just before it runs right off the cliff again when Koutarou feels Keiji squeeze in under his arm for an awkward but warm side-hug. “It’s all good. Promise.”

“Promise?”

“Yes. Promise. No matter what’s going on, more than likely just way too much volleyball,” Keiji adds the last bit quickly, “it’s all good.”

“You’re a good coach, Kou.” Tetsurou chimes in, scooting back his chair to join the panic-calming circle forming in front of the stove. “You take good care of those kids.”

“I do?”

“Yea, you do.” Tetsurou pops open the lid of the rice cooker and steam rushes out. “Now let’s eat. Whatever you two have been making smells awesome.”

Koutarou smiles. He did do a good job. Even if Kei helped with the sides, he made the fish using a new recipe and it looks great. He hopes it tastes good, too. More than anything he’s just glad all four of them are home to eat at the same time today. It’s rare, but that just makes it all the more important when it happens.

Even if he’s actively fighting the fear of what teenage boys are getting up to.

Because four once-teenage boys who got up to some very scandalous things are sitting around his kitchen table right now.

He watches Keijis face light up as Tetsurou and Kei fill him in on all the horribly filthy engineering puns from earlier.

Well, Koutarou thinks, maybe it all works out sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I checked my phone one evening to see that I had written a memo on my phone in the middle of the previous night. It was an outline for this chapter. Sure the spelling was horrible, but the dialogue starters were there.
> 
> This chapter--
> 
> quite literally--
> 
> came to me in a dream.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! (｡’▽’｡)♡


	11. Note Board

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whenever jobs and obligations keep them apart, they find little ways to still be together.

_Kuroo POV_

“--and then I had to go back to the store for the fourth time because I still hadn’t gotten any eggs, only this time half of the store was my old elementary school and the cashier was my old principal and she yelled at me.” Tetsurou huffs out the details of his dream on his morning jog with Koutarou.

“Babe, don’t take this the wrong way, but your dreams are boring.” Tetsurou knows Koutarou is slowing down to keep pace with him this morning. Usually Koutarou will run ahead after ten minutes or so of happy morning conversation and then meet him back at the house. But this morning he’s jogging next to Tetsurou the whole way. It puts a smile on his face. This week has been one of those where they just can’t seem to line up their schedules well enough to see that much of one another. Times like morning jogs together are precious.

“How could you say that? Did you not hear the part where half the store was my school? That’s weird.” They turn a corner and start up the big hill that leads them back up towards their neighborhood.

“You were shopping for eggs.”

“Alright, so what did you dream about?”

Koutarou grins wildly. “I mean, I’m never not dreaming an action movie. Usually one of us is in danger and I have to save the day. Last night there was a super mega storm and I got us into this underground bunker, but I had to beat through all these bad guys first.”

“And that doesn’t freak you out?”

“What?”

“That we’re in danger all the time?”

“I mean, a little, but it always works out.”

“Bo, the hero.” Tetsurou jogs a little faster to poke Koutarou in the arm as he says it, but then the conversation stops because Tetsurou’s chest starts to heave with the effort of running uphill at the end of their jog. 

By the time they make it home, he’s still trying to catch his breath but Koutarou’s off to the shower so he can get ready for work. Tetsurou flops on the couch and waits for Kei to come downstairs and scrunch up his nose at him. He doesn’t have to wait long.

“You’re making the couch all sweaty.” Kei grimaces, his voice still thick with sleep.

Tetsurou loves him like this, halfway through getting dressed for the day. His shirt is crisp but it’s untucked and the collar is popped up, waiting for a tie. His hair is still a little ruffled from sleep, showing signs of Kei’s battle to tame it before he gave up when it reached “good enough.” Tetsurou smiles at his favorite engineer. “Only a little. Good morning to you, too.”

Kei grunts his response, but smiles. “Morning, Tetsu.” He plants a kiss on Tetsurou’s sweaty forehead before continuing his very important journey to the kitchen to get coffee.

It’s not long before Koutarou’s running out the door to start another school day with Kei right behind him, rushing to catch a train. Then the house is quiet. Keiji probably only got home a few hours ago - at the most, and is sound asleep (he hopes). Tetsurou has some time to kill before he has to be on site at the house his crew is working on this month. Something about inspections, permits? He didn’t bother to listen except for the part that said he needed to arrive an hour later than usual.

He goes to the kitchen to find something for breakfast but pauses at the little white board they hung up in the hallway just outside. Both Koutarou and Kei wrote notes for Keiji on it this morning.

In Kei’s precise, neat handwriting:  
_Good morning - There are dinner leftovers that you can eat once you’re up. If I don’t see you before you start your next shift, love you and have a good day/night at work._

In Koutarou’s big, blocky letters:  
_Hi hi hi sunshine! Miss you xoxoxoxoxo You’re the best!_

Tetsurou picks up the little dry erase marker and adds his own:  
_Good morning/afternoon Dr. Keiji. We’re due for a date night soon. You can think about where you wanna go while you’re off saving lives tonight._ ♡ 

Once in the kitchen, he pours himself the rest of Kei’s coffee (Koutarou doesn’t drink any - Tetsurou has no idea how he survives) and sets the timer so there’s a fresh pot waiting for Keiji in a few hours. He showers, stuffs some leftovers in his mouth and then he’s out the front door, too.

*

The next time Tetsurou’s walking through their front door, he’s tired down to his bones and his arms ache from a hard day’s work. It’s later than he usually gets back. He steps in to find the house dark and his heart sinks a little. He knew Kei was still out at one of those “optional but very mandatory evenings out with your department,” and Keiji has already started his next shift, but he thought Koutarou might be home.

He strips off his gross clothes and leaves them in a trail behind him on his way to the kitchen. He stops by the board. 

In Keiji’s tightly curved cursive:  
_As your doctor I’m prescribing a date night where we get oysters. Craving them lately. You all can decide the rest. Also I was lazy and ordered take out. Lots of pad thai and rice in the fridge. Crazy shifts will reach an end super soon. Lots of love._

Underneath is more of Bokuto’s block letters:  
_Came home for a second before practice. Trash is out. Plants are watered. Late practice tonight. Game soon. LOOOOOOOOOVE._

Tetsurou bites his lip before writing another note. He knows it’s all temporary. They go through waves like this, periods where the four of them are like ships passing in the night. It happens when he has more than one renovation job at a time, when Koutarou has extra practices or an away game, when Kei has to cave to the pressures of corporate norms, or when Keiji has to work all the weirdest shifts because in the hospital hierarchy the residents are at the bottom. It’ll pass, he knows, but there’s a heaviness in his heart at coming back to an empty house.

He adds another note:  
_I vote to add a movie to the date. I want to hold all of your hands in the dark. ALL OF YOUR HANDS._

Tetsurou preheats the oven while he microwaves Keiji’s leftovers. Before he settles back on the couch to watch TV while he eats, he cuts slices from the rolled cookie dough he put in the fridge yesterday and arranges them neatly on a baking sheet. At least this way he can smell cookies baking in the big, empty house and his boyfriends will come home to the scent of vanilla and cinnamon wafting through the hallways. Baking makes a house smell like a home.

He doodles a little plate of cookies next to his note on the board. They look like angry, shapeless blobs on a circle when he’s done, but he likes it because there’s four blob-cookies all snuggled together. Perfect.

*

Keiji:  
_You don’t have enough hands to hold all of our hands at once._  
_Love you weirdos._  
_Thanks for the cookies, Tetsu._

Tetsurou:  
_I have my ways. My love doesn’t care about what’s physically possible._  
_You’re weeeeeelcoooooome._  
_Also, we need eggs._

Koutarou:  
_HA! You didn’t buy eggs in your dream and now you forgot them in real life._

Kei:  
_What are you two talking about?_  
_I bought eggs._  
_Looking forward to your night off tomorrow, Keiji._

Bokuto:  
_Yeaaaaaah! I’ll be back in the afternoon. We’re playing nearby. Can’t wait! YAY FOR DATES._  
_Also, check between the couch cushions. I shoved wedding magazines in there again. Enjoy~_

Tetsurou squeezes in his note at the very bottom, knowing they’ll get to erase it all again and start over soon:  
_I’m making french toast in the morning to celebrate us all being home for breakfast. Prepare your stomachs for my love!_  
_You’d look good in a tux, Kou._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, it's so good for the soul to write plotless, domestic fluff on a regular basis.  
> (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) Imagining them being sweet together just makes me a puddle of happy goo.
> 
> Thank you for reading! (And I hope you paid attention to that whole wedding thing getting pushed back in there. I hadn't forgotten!)


	12. The Neighborhood Grandmother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keiji's favorite neighbor

_Akaashi POV_

Their neighborhood is traditional.

They are not.

This leads to some forced awkward small talk around the neighborhood at best, outright stares, whispered comments, and being ignored at the worst. It doesn’t get much worse than that, thankfully.

But it does get a lot better.

“Keiji-kun, thank you for fixing my tablet. You’ve saved me again.” An older woman sits across from Keiji in a stiff armchair covered in a bright, floral pattern. She leans over just enough to close the cover on her device and set it down on a small, wooden table beside her.

“I hardly did anything, Oyori-san. It wasn’t broken.” Keiji smiles and dismissively waves his hand in front of his face. He reaches for the cup of tea his grandmother’s long-time friend always has ready for him when he stops by her house. She lives just a few doors down from their own.

“Broken enough! I don’t know what it means when it wants to update and at this point I’m too old to care.” She laughs, loud and joyful, and Keiji can’t help but make the connection to Tetsurou’s cackle. He wonders what Tetsurou will sound like as an old man. “More tea?”

“No thanks, but I’d be happy to get you some more if you need it.”

She winks. “Always do. Keeps me young.”

*

Keiji makes his way down to Oyori-san’s home as often as he can. He’s busy and always feels like he’s being pulled in a thousand different directions, but when he’s here he feels like he’s stepped into another world, a quieter one (spare Oyori-san’s laugh). Even relaxing at home with three loving men around him, he’s still often reminded of the pile of textbooks upstairs and the chores that need doing. 

Here, there’s only tea, overstuffed couches, and time with his best friend in the neighborhood. Oyori-san used to spend a lot of time with his grandmother and when she moved away, she invited Keiji over and just kept right on talking.

“I like you both,” she had said upon meeting him, “you have a similar aura. Now come on over for tea.”

Keiji had thought that the more she knew about him and the more she paid attention to the three other men living in his home, that she’d distance herself. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Once she got enough peeks into their home when she came by to say hello, she had her own secrets to tell.

“Now don’t feel a bit bad for me when I tell you the next story. Not one bit.” She made him promise, then continued, her voice a little softer than usual. “You know I got married when I was a little older, just a few years past my ‘expiration date’ in those days, but we were happy. He died, though, when we were both still ready for more of life." She slowly motions to a shelf that's lined with dusty framed photographs. "I was so much better looking back then." She adds with a chuckle.

"You still are."

"Hush, I'm still telling my story." She gives him a sideways grin. "After he passed a dear friend of mine moved in. That's us together, on vacation in Kyoto." Her pointing finger settles on another photo, one Oyori-san hadn't told him about yet. Next to it are several more, all with the same woman. "She lived with me, here in this house, until she passed two years ago. Now I see you giving me that sad look - no need! The life she and I had together here was the happiest it could’ve been.” Her voice lowered, she turned in her chair and looked him straight in the eyes. “Is that something you understand, too, Keiji-kun?”

Keiji nodded, swallowing hard as he processed. He had set down his tea, took a deep breath in and out, and then nodded again. He couldn’t find the words, but he knew she understood the weight of what she was telling him. In one moment Keiji felt burdened with the bittersweet story of his friend’s life, but also lighter than he’d felt in years. Someone here in their neighborhood knew and understood.

*

“Will you sit next to me again at the neighborhood meeting?” Keiji stretches his arms and starts to rise off the couch. Tetsurou’s going to be home soon and he wants to see him before work. Maybe he’ll catch Kei or Koutarou, too, if he’s lucky.

Oyori-san gets up, too. Keiji’s stopped trying to tell her that she can stay seated, that he’ll see himself out. She always fights him on it. “Of course! I always do. Plus I have a bone to pick with the lady at the corner.”

He grins. “What’s it this time?”

“She’s sitting out there and checking all of our recycling when we walk it down the street to make sure we do it right.”

“Maybe she just cares about the Earth.”

Oyori-san clicks her tongue. “You’re too gracious, Keiji-kun. She’s an old busybody who needs a hobby!”

Keiji chuckles. “Get her, Oyori-san.”

She winks her reply. “Oh I will.”

He hates to admit it, but watching Oyori-san verbally take-down the people who eyeball the four of them all the time is often the most satisfying part of his entire week. Sometimes he wishes he could get her to yell some sense into the rest his family.

“Same time on Thursday?” He asks on his way out.

“I’ll have the kettle on.”

Even with three wonderful loves of his life, it’s always nice to know there’s one more person in his corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back-to-back updates? Why not?! ( ᐛ )و
> 
> Also this came about because I could *not* believe I hadn't written her in yet. This neighbor has been a part of the headcanons I have for this little AU since the beginning. It was time! She is precious. And feisty. The best combo.


	13. Only One Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go on vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one's POV this time, just everybody

On the drive up to the mountains after work, Kei diligently pays attention to the winding roads while Koutarou and Tetsurou sing the words to every song that comes up on Tetsurou’s “exquisite road trip playlist.” Keiji enjoys it all with the biggest smile on his face because he is actually, finally, definitely on vacation.

There was just one surprise when they drove up the gravel road and opened the door to their home for the long weekend.

They all see it, but Kei’s the first to comment from the door where the whole interior of the cabin is visible. “Tetsurou, there’s only one bed.”

It’s some very modern, but very tiny house. From the door they can see a kitchenette, a little sitting area, hints of a smartly-designed bathroom, but only one, albeit large, bed.

“C’mon, it has everything we need!” Tetsurou replies, throwing his arms wide as he walks in and tosses his weekender bag on the floor. “And I got a great deal.”

“I need a bigger bed.” Kei pouts, setting his bag down on a chair by the window.

Koutarou comes to his aid, throwing an arm around Tetsurou. “It’s plenty big enough.”

“We’ve slept in smaller before.” Tetsurou adds, confident once again.

Kei opens his mouth to retort, but Keiji cuts in first.

He smiles softly, “I like it. We can cuddle better.”

And the argument reaches a swift end. Even Kei’s expression softens at the comment. If Keiji, Mr. Hasn’t Stopped Working in Months… Years, is looking forward to it, then so is everyone.

*

They arrive late enough that’s there’s not much light left to do anything, so Koutarou leads the charge for dinner. He rifles through his bag until he pulls out his favorite pan. Tetsurou yanks a gas-can powered burner from his. Kei starts unpacking groceries and laying out vegetables on the cutting board he likes. And Keiji’s just left wondering when they had time to plan all this. Of course he’d seen their bags, seen the groceries, but it’s all starting to add up.

“You’re making my favorites.” He says warmly.

Koutarou turns around. “Well, only some. It’s summer so--”

“We couldn’t get your absolute favorite. That’s--” Kei carefully starts cutting vegetables.

“--only best in the spring, I know.” Keiji adds fondly, watching them all come together, wondering where he can fit in for the preparation.

He ends up snapping the ends off of fresh string beans with Tetsurou in the chairs at the front while Kei and Koutarou take over most of the cooking, like they usually do. They dance around one another in the tiny space, focused sometimes, laughing too hard to focus at other times, until there’s a variety of small but satisfying summer dishes laid out on the little table. From string beans wrapped in shiso leaves to silken tofu topped with mentaiko, from freshly picked radishes to the store-bought sashimi laid out on a white plate from the cabinets, and everything in between, it’s all perfect.

“I brought a grill pan for tomorrow.” Tetsurou says, laying back and patting his stomach once they’re finished. “Get ready for grilled eggplant, grilled mushrooms, grilled pineapple--”

“Grilled whatever-fish-we-find-at-the-store-tomorrow” Koutarou adds with a grin.

“Or I could catch something.” Tetsurou winks.

“You didn’t even bring a fishing pole.” Keiji notes from where’s he’s sleepily slumping against Koutarou’s shoulder.

“I can catch things with my hands.” He holds them out in front of him with a look on his face like they’re full of power.

Kei gently kicks him in the ankle, then picks up his feet to lie across Tetsurou’s lap.

The windows in the little cabin are all open and the sounds of the mountain evening are sifting through the screens. Cicadas, crickets, the wind in the trees. The conversation grows quiet while they all settle their happy stomachs.

Kei’s eyes close and his head rests against the back of his chair. “It sounds like Miyagi.” He lets go of a contented sigh and Tetsurou rubs little circles into Kei’s leg with his thumb. 

“Makes me think of the time we all went up there to meet your family.” Keiji yawns.

Tetsurou sputters out a laugh. “Oh that was so good.”

“Your mom hugged us all so much.” Koutarou joins in on the laughter.

Tetsurou sits up, nearly knocking Kei’s legs to the ground. “And you made us all sit outside to get away from it for a bit.”

Keiji chimes in again. “Tetsu brought out those beers and Kou acted like he was breaking the rules.”

“Well, it felt like it.” Koutarou defends. “She’s a _mom_. You don’t drink around moms.”

Kei playfully rolls his eyes. “Please, she’ll kill half a bottle of red while chatting with us on the phone. I don’t think you have to worry.”

Another round of laughter follows, gradually fading away until it’s just the sound of the outdoors again. Keiji stretches like he’s ready for bed. “Anyway, it sounds like that night.”

Kei hums in agreement, eye closed again. “It does.”

*

They do fit in the bed, after all, but only just. The kickers, Tetsurou and Kei, sleep on the ends. Koutarou earns a middle spot next to Kei because once he’s out, he out for good. And Keiji is in the middle next to Tetsurou because, well, none of them have gotten to see him enough lately and he absolutely has to be in the middle.

Keiji falls asleep first, listening to the sounds of the loves of his life talking in hushed tones about nothing at all, just work, or memories, or plans for the weekend. He doesn’t hear much of what they say, he just lets the cadence of their voices carry him into much needed rest. The forever night owl finally falls asleep before anyone else.

Koutarou’s next, which surprises no one at all. He’s almost always the first asleep, but he stays up long enough to tell funny teacher stories where he has to stifle his laughter into a pillow so he doesn’t wake Keiji. He snores just a little once he’s out, but they’re used to it by now.

Tetsurou and Kei stay up a little longer. Kei uses his book light to read and Tetsurou keeps asking him sleepy questions about his book. Kei can only just make out the lines and shadows on his face from the tiny light. He looks so soft and sleepy, his hair falling all over his face. Kei obliges, answering every question, until Tetsurou’s eyes are closed, his breathing steady, and his chin rests just above Keiji’s.

Kei reads until his eyelids grow heavy, then he shuts his books, turns off his light, and yawns deeply as he curls up against Koutarou’s chest. They’re a tangled mess of too-close limbs and faces, but maybe one bed isn’t so bad after all.

*

When they wake up in the morning, it’s all at once, like crashing dominos. Tetsurou’s the first awake, but he falls off the bed as he shakes off the veil of sleep. The sound startles Kei, whose head pops up above Koutarou’s to make sure everything's alright. Keiji’s next, reaching behind him and looking confused when he doesn’t feel anyone. Then Koutarou’s up because Tetsurou laughs hard enough at himself to pull him out of a deep sleep.

It’s early, probably too early to be up judging by the time they fell asleep, but there’s instant coffee and a hot water kettle, so everything’s fine.

Keiji’s the first to wander into the morning air and settle downs on one of the low benches made from sanded-down logs set in a semi-circle outside. He pulls his knees up to his chest and yanks his oversized sweatshirt over them, surrounding himself in a little cocoon. A habit leftover from his high school days that he’s never wanted to shake. His head peeks out enough that he can drink coffee. That’s all he needs.

“Aw, it’s the Keiji-blob!” Koutarou announces happily as he steps outside, hands on his hips when he takes in a deep breath of the outdoors. “Haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Haven’t been this relaxed in a while.” Keiji replies.

“Glad you can relax, babe.” Tetsurou sits down, both hands wrapped around his mug. Kei’s right behind him, still looking a bit too sleepy to say much.

“What do you want to do today?” Koutarou asks, looking like he’s brimming with energy even with so little sleep and no need for coffee.

“Right now? Nothing.” Keiji says, but quickly adds, “but that’ll change. I just want a slow morning first.”

“Me, too.” Kei groans sleepily.

Through sips of his coffee, Tetsurou describes the different hiking trails in the area he found while doing research. Together they weigh the pros and cons of each.

“That sounds way too hard.” Kei comments on one.

“But the waterfall makes it worth it!” Tetsurou won’t let it go, but he keeps jumping anytime he hears anything close to the sound of an animal’s footsteps behind him. A fact the others won’t let him forget. Kei calls him a “city boy” and they all share at a laugh at Tetsurou’s expense over a second round of caffeine.

When the conversation lulls, they each grow still at the sounds of nature. Even Tetsurou who seems to have gotten a little more used to it now. A little.

Keiji’s the one to break the silence. “We could get married in a place like this.”

The grin that stretches across his face is nothing compared to the wide, toothy smile that instantly pops onto Koutarou’s lips. “You still think about that?”

“All the time, Kou.” He replies, tucking himself just a little more into his sweatshirt. “I don’t have that much longer in my residency.”

“You mean it?” Koutarou’s excited thoughts are so loud, the others swear they can hear them. Keiji nods. So do the other two. “We hadn’t talked about it in a a while, so--”

“We all think about it. Impossible not to with your _vision board_ taking up most of the fridge at this point.” Tetsurou chuckles.

“I just have so many ideas!”

“You’d need a hundred weddings to include everything.” Kei adds, grinning.

Koutarou’s bouncing at this point. “I know, I know, but something simple could be nice, too. If we found someplace quiet like this--”

“Maybe in Miyagi?” Tetsurou adds.

“You’d want that?” Kei scrunches up his nose. “I always thought we’d do it in Tokyo, since that’s where you’re all from and it’s where we live now.”

Tetsurou shrugs. “Getting out of the city might be nice, too.”

Keiji nods from his cozy sweatshirt cave.

“My mom would love that.” Kei smirks, finishing the rest of his coffee.

“We could do that, find some secluded sort of place for those we love the most and then,” Koutarou gestures wildly while he speaks, “ we come on back to Tokyo and have, like, some huge party for everyone else.”

“I want to plan the honeymoon.” Keiji adds wistfully. “I want all the vacations once I’m done.”

“Deal. We’ll celebrate Keiji the doctor, get married, and then, like, go ditch real life to go live on some island for a month.” Tetsurou closes his eyes as he dreams.

“I wish.” Kei agrees. “But even short trips are nice when we’re all together.”

Unfiltered sappy words from Kei, the man who chooses most often to show his love through cooking and grocery shopping for the house, takes them all a bit by surprise but no one says anything, happy to just enjoy the rare moment and the dusting of pink across Kei’s cheeks.

Soon a final pot of coffee is made, then backpacks are prepared for the hike ahead. Kei spends the day torn between complaining and gloating on the few occasions when he reaches the top of rocks faster than the others. Tetsurou races whoever he can get to take him up on the challenge. Koutarou enjoys pushing or pulling his boyfriends, no -- fiancees, when the terrain gets tough. And Keiji likes being pulled up by those strong muscles even when he doesn’t need it.

And it turns out, the waterfall was definitely worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, it's been a criminally long time since I updated anything for this little world, so I sent them on a little vacation.
> 
> Thanks for reading! (*^‿^*) I hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank goodness for ot3+ week! It was the push I needed to give life to the snippets of ideas I've had in a google doc for over a year now. 
> 
> And the title has, for some reason, stuck throughout the whole time. I see it as having two sides. One - other, less awesome, people seeing them in their house and thinking "ugh, there goes the neighborhood." Two - triumphantly throwing out outdated ideas of what relationships should look like and cheering "there goes the neighborhood!" 
> 
> I'll keep adding to this whenever the mood strikes. It's fun! I love imaging their lives together and getting to show the more domestic, lovey-dovey side of polyamory. (´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`) ♡
> 
>    
> [Chat with me on twitter @HeyMellieJellie](https://www.twitter.com/heymelliejellie)


End file.
